Family Values
by ijustkeepswimming
Summary: Joey is busy working and running her family home, keeping an eye on her friends and flitting in and out of relationships when a new cop arrives in town, ready to turn her life upside down...
1. Chapter 1

_This is a different spin on Charlie, Joey, their relationship with Ruby and the chaos of the River Boys. I won't say more than that but will let you read the chapter and hope you like it! Love, IJKS xxx_

**Family Values**

**Chapter One**

Joey Collins thundered down the stairs, already late for work and feeling rushed and stressed.

"Do any of you ever eat breakfast at your own place?" she asked when she found her kitchen busy with two half naked men.

"You love us too much to turn us away!" Daryl 'Brax' Braxton, her best friend in all the world teased. "Now, where's our breakfast?"

"I'm not your wife!" Joey protested, although she did turn to busy herself with making food for everyone.

"Not for want of trying," Heath commented.

Brax threw a spoon at him. Joey couldn't help but laugh and comment that unfortunately, he just didn't float her boat.

"Well, it's not your boat that I've been after all these years," Brax pointed out.

Joey snorted. With the bread in the toaster, she moved into the doorway and hollered up the stairs.

"Ruby!" she yelled. "You're going to be late!"

Turning back to the kitchen, she commented that she was in danger of doing the same.

"You look hot in your uniform, by the way," Heath commented.

"You see me in it every day," Joey reminded him.

At twenty three, Joey worked for an animal rescue agency. Having adored all creatures since she was very small, her home had gradually been filled with various pets over the years and she was not averse to bringing the odd stray home. Her work kept her pretty busy and every day was new and interesting, even if it added to the chaos she seemed to surround herself with at all times.

"And you look hot in it every day," he replied.

Turning back to the toast, she tossed a couple of slices in front of her friends and next door neighbours.

"Ruby!" she yelled.

"I'm here!" the teenager said sourly, finally arriving in the kitchen in her school uniform.

Joey buttered a slice of toast quickly and shoved a piece in her sister's mouth.

"We're munching and running," she said.

"That's bad for your health, you know," Brax said, tucking into his own food.

"If you cared that much, you'd have breakfast at your own place and stop cluttering my kitchen!" Joey remarked. "Make yourselves useful and feed the animals while you're here. And lock up when you leave, okay? I presume Brett's already left."

"Yeah, his car's not there," Heath said.

"Be good," Joey said, grabbing the final slice of toast and two on-the-go smoothies from the fridge for herself and Ruby.

"We always are!" Brax insisted, although everybody knew it wasn't true.

"Are we taking Casey to school?" Ruby asked on the way out.

"If he's ready," Joey said. "But we've really got to get a move on, Rubes."

The thirteen year old hurried to bang on the back door of the Braxton house next door, yelling her boyfriend's name while Joey hopped into the car and turned the engine on. It was a familiar routine. Joey had never been a morning person and always overslept. This meant she was running approximately five minutes late for every occasion and it only seemed to get worse with every new responsibility she took on. Still, she didn't mind. It kept life interesting and fun, if a little busy.

"Ruby!" she bellowed out the window when her little sister didn't appear immediately.

This was also part of their routine in Joey's attempts to get the teenager to school each morning.

"We're coming!" Ruby said, strolling towards the car with Casey.

Neither of them looked like they had a care in the world.

"I'm going to be late," Joey said through gritted teeth when the teenagers climbed in – Casey in the back and Ruby in the passenger seat.

"Joey, you're always late," Ruby said as Joey shot out of the drive, barely giving them time to put their seatbelts on. "Everyone's used to it by now. You really should catch up."

* * *

><p>It had been a long and busy day and Joey was exhausted. She'd been called out to a house full of abandoned kittens, not all of whom were likely to make it. Having had to break into the property, she and her colleague had had to catch them and bundle them into carriers in order to get them treated at the animal hospital. One of them had particularly caught her attention and she knew it would take everything she had not to adopt it. So far, on a long term basis, she had collected four cats, a rabbit, two guinea pigs, three hamsters, five chickens and a goat. She wasn't entirely sure that the house could take much more. But she loved each of them and so did Ruby. Their older brother, Brett, mostly just put up with them but even when they were busy at work, Joey knew they would always be cared for. Brax had a flexible schedule and Heath was generally unemployed, as were most of their gang so there was always someone to look in on them if Joey had to leave her babies for too long.<p>

Pulling up and into the drive, she cut the engine and sighed, noting the police car parked up outside the Braxton house. Climbing out, she turned away from her own house and towards her friends' to see if things were okay. The police regularly showed up on their door. It was something they were all used to. Generally, Joey liked to thing they were innocent, but it was never a great shock when Heath in particular had caused some kind of trouble.

"Is everything okay?" she asked, appearing in the backyard.

"Who are you?" the police officer demanded in irritation. "Another Braxton?"

"No, I'm a Collins," Joey replied evenly. "And that's really not the most polite way of saying hello."

The police officer, a striking, dark haired woman stared at her for a moment. Joey couldn't quite help checking her out. She was slim and tanned and had a beautiful face, even if she was glaring.

"I'm not here to be polite," the woman said. "I'm here to arrest a thief."

"I told you I didn't do anything!" Heath protested.

"What's going on?" Brax asked, appearing behind Joey.

"Are you Daryl?"

"Brax," he corrected.

"Well, your brother's been named in the theft of several items of jewellery," the woman said. "So we need to search your house."

"Have you got a warrant?" Brax asked casually.

"No," the cop admitted.

"Well, why don't you leave my brother alone and come back when you have one?"

"When you've hidden the stuff?" she asked.

"Maybe," Brax said. "But whether he did it or not you've got no choice so why don't you run along and make someone else's life a misery?"

The woman glanced at her female colleague who nodded. They headed back off the property.

"Bye, Watson!" Joey called to the officer she recognised.

The one who had captured her attention and offered so much attitude was new.

"Bye!" Watson yelled back over her shoulder.

Joey couldn't help but laugh when she overheard the new girl criticising Watson for being friendly with criminals. She resisted protesting that she engaged in illegal activities and turned to glare at Heath instead.

"Tell me you haven't screwed up again?" Brax said, unamused.

"It wasn't like that," Heath protested.

"Okay, I don't want to know," Joey said, hurrying out of the garden and into her own place.

She had made a firm rule a long time ago that she didn't want to know if any of her friends had broken the law. If she knew it to be true, she'd feel obliged to do something about it and she really didn't want to dob any of them in. She loved her boys and she wanted to protect them, even if too many of them did make far too many stupid mistakes. Letting herself into the house, she immediately received fuss from Rumble, a little black cat she had adopted as a baby and who was now a giant.

"Rubes, are you home?" she called out.

"I'm in here," Ruby said from the lounge. "Doing my homework like a good girl."

Joey entered the room and sat beside her.

"At least someone's behaving," she commented.

"Which River Boy is in trouble now?" Ruby asked, putting her pen down.

"Heath," Joey said. "Brax is dealing with it."

Ruby nodded.

"Anyway, dinner will be at six," Joey said, standing back up. "I'm going to shower."

* * *

><p><em>Next time… Joey meets the new cop for a second time and Ruby grills Joey about her relationship with Watson…<em>


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Senior Constable Charlie Buckton felt sick. Standing in an abandoned house in Mangrove River, she couldn't tear her eyes away from the dog lying lifelessly on the floor.

"When are animal services getting here?" she asked Watson who shrugged and looked at her watch.

"She said she had a lot on and just to sit tight. She'll be here as soon as she can."

"Well, I wish she'd hurry up," Charlie said sourly.

She moved to lay a sheet over the poor animal and turned away. Charlie had only been in the area for a week and she had hit the ground running. Having been transferred from the city, on request, she was still trying to find a place to live. It wasn't terribly easy to adjust to life in a small town but she was doing her best.

"I'll go out and wait," Watson said, doing just that.

She hadn't yet figured Charlie out. On the one hand, she seemed nice enough and they'd shared a couple of jokes during their brief period of partnership. But generally, the new Senior Constable was rather highly strung and had rubbed several people up the wrong way. She had been mightily annoyed at not being granted a search warrant for the Braxton house and the case had been dropped. She also hadn't been impressed that Watson seemed to be so friendly with criminals.

"Hey!" she called cheerfully when a van approached.

Joey jumped out cheerfully, although inside she was bracing herself for what she would find in the house.

"Hi," she greeted. "What's the situation?"

"Abandoned house," Watson explained, leading her up to the front door. "The neighbours were worried about the smell and thought a person might have died or something so they called us but..."

"It was a pet?" Joey asked unhappily.

"Dog," Watson confirmed.

They entered the living room where Charlie was still standing.

"Charlie, this is..." Watson began.

"What are you doing here?" Charlie snapped, turning around and recognising Joey from the day before.

"Nice to see you again too," Joey commented. "Although you might want to work on your manners."

"Seriously, what are you doing here? Trying to rob the place?"

Joey merely pointed out her uniform and badge. Charlie looked startled.

"You're the animal services person?" she asked.

"You saw me in my uniform yesterday," Joey said easily. "Or were you too busy judging me by my neighbours?"

Charlie didn't reply. Watson watched them with interest. She had suspected that her occasional lover and her new colleague were unlikely to make friends. Taking Charlie's silence as permission to carry on with her job, Joey knelt down in front of the sheet. Sadness engulfed her as she removed it and saw a thin Collie lying on the floor. Charlie stood behind her, struck by the gentleness in which the woman handled the dog even though she was already gone.

"There are puppies," she said hesitantly.

Joey turned around and looked up at her, surprised by how anxious she looked.

"She's been nursing them," she said, standing up. "But I guess she ran out of energy. Where are the babies?"

"In the kitchen," Watson said. "I'll take you."

Joey nodded at Charlie and followed Watson through the house. Charlie stayed where she was, gazing sadly down at the dog, wondering how anyone could abandon their pets and leave them to die like that.

* * *

><p>"What's her deal?" Joey asked Watson when they were safely out of earshot.<p>

She crouched down in front of five puppies huddled together in a corner, looking half starved and terrified.

"I haven't figured it out yet," Watson admitted.

Joey nodded and began to chat to the puppies. Watson stood over her and smiled as she cooed over them, doing her best to put them at their ease.

"Do you want to go for a drink tonight?" Watson asked.

"I might be on babysitting duty," Joey said.

Watson's heart sank. Joey turned around and smiled.

"But if Brett's around, sure," she said. "I'll call you."

"Great."

"Can you go and grab the pet carriers from the van please?"

Watson hurried away in order to obey orders.

* * *

><p>"Where are you going?" Charlie asked when her colleague walked past her.<p>

"Getting the pet carriers," Watson said. "Coming?"

Eager to escape the poor dog, Charlie obliged.

"So, she's fully trained and everything?"

"Why wouldn't she be?" Watson asked, handing over a couple of containers.

"Well, she just..."

"She's a good person," Watson told her, heading back to the house. "Don't be so quick to judge just because she hangs out with the River Boys."

Charlie sighed and followed her into the house.

* * *

><p>Ten minutes later, with the puppies yapping away in the car and their poor mother in her own box, Joey prepared to go back to the animal shelter.<p>

"What will happen to them?" Charlie asked anxiously.

Joey shoved her hands in her pockets and looked into her eyes for a moment, still trying to figure her out. Watson noticed the way they looked at each other and immediately felt uncomfortable and a little jealous. Maybe they would get along after all.

"We'll do a post-mortem but it's pretty clear that she died of starvation," Joey explained. "And we'll nurse the pups back to health and hopefully get them adopted. They're pretty young and cute so they've got a good chance."

Charlie nodded, still feeling sad about what she had witnessed.

"And we'll start our own investigation as to how this happened and who's responsible," Joey added. "So we'd appreciate any help you guys can offer."

"We'll find out what we can," Watson said.

"Thanks," Joey replied.

Saying goodbye to both women, she hopped into her van and drove away. Charlie watched her depart before snapping herself to attention and getting on with the job in hand.

* * *

><p>That evening, Joey arrived home and threw herself onto the couch. The image of the poor dog who hadn't made it was etched in her mind and she knew it would take a while for her to recover fully. Still, the confirmation that she had sacrificed herself to save her babies was a consolation. They were all doing well and were likely to be re-homed quickly.<p>

"Jo?"

Joey opened her eyes and see Ruby hovering over her.

"Can I hang out with Casey tonight?" the thirteen year old asked.

"Where? For how long? And what are you doing?" Joey wanted to know.

They were her usual three questions.

"We were going to go and hang out at the beach with school friends," Ruby said.

"Which school friends?"

"Xavier, Romeo and April," Ruby said. "I'll be home by ten."

Joey cleared her throat.

"Nine thirty," Ruby corrected herself.

"I'm probably going out for a drink with Watson tonight," Joey said, ignoring her sister's smirk. "So I'll come and pick you up at half nine and bring you home. Where on the beach are you going to be?"

"We're heading over to Summer Bay," Ruby said. "There's some event going on or something."

"Okay," Joey said. "I'll pick you up outside the Surf Club."

"You're such a parent," Ruby teased, coming to sit beside her.

Joey just smiled.

"So, you and Watson, hey?" the youngest Collins teased.

"Don't start," Joey warned.

"You know she's in love with you."

"She's not in love with me," Joey said quickly.

"She is!"

"We're friends."

"With benefits," Ruby smirked.

Joey sighed, worrying that she was setting a bad example.

"Not that she's alone," Ruby added. "Brax loves you, Heath wants you..."

"They're all platonic," Joey said.

"Except Watson."

"Including Watson!"

"But you slept with her!" Ruby pointed out.

Joey sat up.

"Adults are very complicated," she said. "Stop being in such a hurry to find all this stuff out. I'm going to get ready. Make sure you're not late meeting me, okay?"

"Promise," Ruby replied.

* * *

><p><em>Next time… Charlie makes friends with Watson and Joey…<em>


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Joey and Watson had headed over to Angelo's, the restaurant that Brax part-owned in Summer Bay. It was named after the other owner, a former colleague of Watson's. After a turbulent year of accidentally shooting a colleague, being cleared of all charges, bringing down a human trafficking organisation and then letting the ring leader escape with the love of his life, Angelo Rosetta had been kicked out of the police and decided to set up a restaurant instead. Joey had never had all that much time for him. She didn't know him that well but as far as she was concerned, his history was far murkier than anything any of her boys ever got up to. But still, Brax had bailed him out of a difficult financial situation so Joey had no qualms in eating at the venue.

"What happened to the puppies?" Watson asked as they tucked into their meals.

"They're going to be fine," Joey confirmed. "I'll probably pop in to see them tomorrow."

"It's your day off!" Watson protested. "Seriously, you are married to your job."

"Says you!" Joey remarked. "And besides, when I told Ruby about them, she wanted to meet them."

"You're not thinking of bringing them home, are you?" Watson worried, fully aware of Joey's habit.

"Ah, you know I couldn't take on a dog," Joey reminded her. "They need a lot more attention than I can give. I can't exactly take them to work with me, can I?"

"No," Watson agreed. "And that's probably a good thing!"

Joey laughed but couldn't help but agree. She would most certainly own a zoo if she could get away with it!

"So, how long have I got your for?" Watson asked.

"I'm meeting Ruby at nine thirty to take her home. Casey might come too."

Watson nodded, disappointed. It was already eight o'clock and she was desperate to spend more time with her friend. Their relationship was complicated to say the least. They'd slept together a handful of times, although it was by no means regular and neither woman had expressed an interest in actually entering into a relationship, although Watson harboured her feelings secretly. She doubted she would be able to keep up with Joey's life anyway. She seemed to always be charging here there and everywhere and juggled far too many things on any given day.

"But we still have time," Joey added with a smile.

"To do what?" Watson smirked.

Joey laughed and told her to behave. She looked up just as Charlie walked through the restaurant door.

"There's your best friend," she said, nodding towards her.

Watson looked round as Angelo approached and offered her a table.

"Is she on her own?" Joey wondered.

"She's new to town," Watson explained. "She probably hasn't made any friends yet. Especially with _that _attitude."

"Maybe we should..."

Watson was half surprised and half disappointed. But she nodded and caught Angelo's attention.

"Does Charlie want to join us?" she asked.

He looked confused until she pointed to his newest customer.

"I'll ask," he said, heading on over to her table.

Joey watched Angelo speak to the pretty police officer and couldn't help but smile at the way her eyes lit up at the invitation. Nodding, she stood and joined them at their table.

"Thanks," she said quietly.

"No problem," Joey said. "It can't be that easy moving to a new town where you don't really know anyone."

Charlie looked momentarily alarmed but quickly realised that Watson already knew that about her and had probably informed her friend.

"Where are you from?" Joey asked, politely wanting to get to know their new companion.

"I'm a city girl," Charlie explained.

"How did you end up here?"

"Just fancied a change," Charlie said vaguely.

Her intentions regarding living in the area were complicated to say the least and it wasn't something she felt particularly comfortable going into.

"Have you guys lived here for long?"

"Ten years," Watson said.

"Forever," Joey told her. "Born and raised."

"Whereabouts are you living?" Watson wondered.

"I'm staying at the Sands Resort down the road," Charlie said. "But I'm trying to find somewhere more permanent."

Joey nodded and wished her luck. Angelo appeared to take Charlie's order. Both Watson and Joey noticed him very obviously checking the newcomer out. Both women found it amusing.

"Are you sure you don't mind?" Charlie checked, very aware of how rude she had initially been to Joey. "I don't want to delay you."

"We've got time," Joey assured her. "Don't worry."

Charlie thanked her and then ordered pasta. Angelo nodded and hurried away.

"Well, it's nice to meet you properly," Joey said pleasantly to the newcomer. "I hope we can be friends."

Charlie smiled.

"Me too," she said sincerely.

At nine thirty on the dot, Watson and Joey said their goodbyes to Charlie who headed back to her hotel.

"So, are you dropping me off at home or...?" Watson asked as they waited for Ruby to show up.

"I think that's best," Joey said honestly. "I really need an early night."

For a long time, she'd thought Watson was in the same place she was but the more Ruby teased her and the more she analysed the situation herself, the more she worried that Watson was more invested than she let on. And she didn't want to lead her on in any way. If Joey was going to be in a relationship then she wanted it to be the right one and, try as she might, she just didn't think that it would be with Watson. So from now on, she had resolved not to give her mixed messages. It wasn't fair and the last thing she wanted was to hurt someone she cared so much about.

"Okay," Watson said quietly, gazing out into the distance, relieved when she spotted Joey's little sister heading towards them.

"You're late," Joey pointed out with mock sternness.

"By thirty seconds!" Ruby protested.

"That's still late!" Joey teased, leading the way to the car.

"You suck," Ruby sulked, following her.

"You know you love me really," Joey called back over her shoulder.

Charlie arrived back at her hotel and jumped straight in the shower. Tonight had been a pleasant surprise. After her initial misgivings about Joey Collins, she had turned out to be a nice person. Charlie had been touched that she and Watson cared enough to invite her to join them for dinner. She had been a little nervous about eating by herself. Perhaps this town wouldn't be so bad after all. And if she could just settle in properly, then perhaps she might find the one thing she was so desperately looking for.

* * *

><p><em>Next time… Charlie and Joey get to know each other better…<em>


	4. Chapter 4

_Tomorrow's updates may be late as I am heading over to my Mum's for Christmas. But for now, I hope you enjoy today's instalments. Oh, and so far, Arrested Development is winning the race for an extra update on Christmas Eve. Thank you for being more specific! Love, IJKS xxx_

**Chapter Four**

Joey left the house early the following morning. Up just after sunrise, she fed all the animals and left a note for Ruby to say that she was going for a surf, although really, she expected to be back before her sister ever saw it. It was her favourite time of day for getting out onto the water, although in fairness, she rarely saw it, due to running late for everything.

* * *

><p>Heading out of the water after a good hour, Joey dumped her board, stripped halfway out of her wetsuit and collapsed on the sand in happy exhaustion. Lying back on the beach in her wetsuit, Joey closed her eyes and then gazed up at the sky. She was watched the clouds glide through the blue. After a few moments, she propped herself up on her elbows, smiling when she spotted Charlie out for a run. Even from a distance, she was beautiful. Her hair was pulled back into a long ponytail and she was clad in a tight, sleeveless blue top and white shorts that showed off particularly long, shapely legs. Joey had no choice but to admire her.<p>

The police officer paused when she spotted Joey stretched out on the sand in front of her. She slowed to a stop and smiled, hoping that they were still on talking terms, having originally got off on the wrong foot.

"You're making a habit of being in the same place as me," Joey commented.

She hauled herself off the sand and smiled. Charlie stared at her for a moment, half in a wet suit and half in a skimpy bikini top. She was gorgeous.

"Apparently so," she agreed. "I hope you don't mind."

"You're pleasant enough – out of uniform at least," Joey smirked.

Charlie laughed a little nervously, concerned about making a bad impression.

"Sorry about the other day," she said, twisting her hands together a little. "Thanks for giving me another chance."

"Don't worry," Joey said, sitting back down and gestured for Charlie to join her, which she did.

The two women gazed out at the waves for a while.

"So, the surfboard," Charlie said. "Does that make you a River Boy?"

Joey snorted.

"I guess it does!" she said. "Of a fashion. How about you?"

Charlie looked confused.

"Do you surf?"

"No," Charlie replied. "I've never been one for the sea, really."

"Are you serious?" Joey laughed. "The sea is the best thing on this planet. I love it."

"Really?" Charlie said, pulling a puzzled face. "It's kind of scary if you ask me."

"Scary?"

"It's so big. You could die in it. I mean, out there too far, you'd have no control."

"That's the amazing thing about it, Charlie," Joey said. "It's so big, so vast, so out of control. And yet it's so perfect. It's guided by the moon, it gives lives to so many different organisms. There's a whole world down there that we'll never truly know about it. It's incredible. I'd do everything in it if I could!"

Charlie chuckled, amused by her passion.

"I don't mind paddling in the shallow end," she said. "But not much more than that."

Joey turned and smiled at her.

"Well, maybe if you and I become friends I'll take you out one day," she said. "A boat ride or a surfing lesson or something. What do you think?"

"Maybe," Charlie said reasonably. "Although, do you really want to become my friend?"

"You seem nice enough to me," Joey said. "When you're not trying to arrest me or someone I love."

Charlie nodded and studied a shell in front of her.

"So, you're good friends with Watson, are you?" she ventured.

"Yeah, we're close," Joey said, not open to offering any solid details. "She's a good sort."

"She thinks a lot of you."

Joey smiled at her again.

"I hope so," she said. "I think a lot of her too."

They fell into strangely comfortable silence for a moment.

"So, what are your plans today, Senior Constable?" Joey finally asked.

"House hunting," Charlie said. "I'm tired just thinking about it!"

Joey laughed softly.

"I'd offer you a spare room but I kind of don't have one," she said. "We're a bit packed in my place!"

"Who do you live with?" Charlie asked.

"My brother, my sister and more animals than is reasonable," Joey replied.

Charlie laughed.

"You take your work home with you then?" she asked.

"I always get into trouble for it," Joey admitted. "But I can't help it. When I know one of the animals I've rescued isn't going to be re-homed, I can't bear it. I know that I can give it all the love it needs so..."

She shrugged.

"You seem very kind hearted," Charlie said.

"I don't know," Joey replied modestly. "I don't think I'm any better than most people."

"Well, you're pretty much the kindest person I've met so far," Charlie said. "Granted, I've alienated a lot of people already but you were the one who saw past it."

Joey turned to study her face.

"Why do you do that?" she asked.

"Do what?"

"Alienate people?"

Charlie shrugged and said she didn't know.

"Well, I'm glad I don't feel alienated," Joey responded. "Like I said last night, I feel for you – moving into a whole new community, especially when you're not used to life on the coast. It must be a pretty big adjustment."

"It is," Charlie admitted.

"How come you ended up transferred here, anyway?"

"I wanted a change," Charlie lied. "And a spot at Yabbie Creek came up so I just kind of went for it. I hope I haven't made a mistake."

"Just hold back a bit," Joey advised. "Don't dive in and don't make an enemy of the boys. Bust them if you really have to. I'd never tell anyone to ignore a crime but don't seek them out. Slow and steady wins the race and all that."

She smiled. Charlie nodded, accepting her suggestion.

"I'll bear it in mind," she said. "Do you ignore the crime though?"

"To a degree," Joey admitted. "I mean, I make a point of not knowing what the others get up to. If I knew they'd done something wrong, I'd feel obligated to report it. And they know that. So I tend to just keep myself ignorant. Maybe that's still a bad thing but my conscience is clean. I'd be the first to hand them in if I had to. I wouldn't be a good guardian to my sister if I didn't. But I'd rather stay out of it, not know the details and get on with my own life. It's hectic enough without throwing anything else in!"

She smiled. Charlie couldn't help but smile back.

"So, you look after your sister?" she asked.

"Pretty much," Joey said. "I mean, my brother helps out but he's pretty busy and I'm closer to her so I guess I just took on the role when she needed someone. She's only a kid and I want to make sure she has the best life I can provide."

"That's nice," Charlie said.

"I _am _nice," Joey giggled.

"Yes," Charlie agreed, amused. "You are."

"Speaking of, I'd better head on home," Joey said, getting to her feet and picking up her board. "She'll be waking up soonish. I want to be showered and ready to make breakfast before then. Catch you later, Charlie."

"Yeah, bye," Charlie said, waving.

"Good luck with the house hunting!" Joey called back over her shoulder. "I hope you find somewhere nice to settle."

"Me too," Charlie said, more to herself than anyone else.

She turned back to gaze out at the water.

* * *

><p><em>Next time… Charlie has an altercation with Brax and bonds further with Joey…<em>


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

It was a Friday night and Joey was glad to be spending the evening unwinding with her friends. Brax had a rare night off from the restaurant so they'd headed to a local bar on the seafront with a few of the boys and were enjoying spending time together.

"Is that the hot cop?" Brax asked, pointing his beer bottle in the direction of the door.

Joey looked up and saw Charlie approach the bar. She was still in uniform.

"Yeah, that's Charlie," Joey confirmed, finishing her own drink.

Brax smirked.

"You're not going to bag another cop, are you?" he teased.

"Hardly!" Joey laughed.

"How are things with the delightful Watson anyway?" Brax wondered.

"We're just friends," Joey said.

"That have sex," Brax pointed out.

"Not anymore!" Joey protested. "I've put a stop to it."

"Why?"

"Because it's not fair. I think she has feelings for me and..."

"No shit, Sherlock!"

Joey glared and slapped him mostly playfully on the arm. Her eyes drifted to Charlie who was rummaging through her handbag somewhat fretfully at the bar.

"I'm going to get another drink," Joey decided.

"You just want to see Charlie."

"No I don't!" Joey lied.

The fact that the police officer was at the bar did make Joey more inclined to head on up there. She wasn't entirely sure what she was feeling but she did think Charlie was nice. And it was not lost on her that she was attractive.

"Do you think she plays for your team or might she be fair game for me?" Brax asked.

Joey laughed until she realised he was serious. She eyed him curiously.

"Do you actually like her or do you just want to screw a cop because if that's the case, pick someone else," Joey said.

He couldn't help but note how protective she was being. It both interested and amused him. Leaping up, he decided to get the next round himself. Sighing, Joey watched him go. Turning round, she spotted Brody and Heath playing a game of pool so decided to go and cheer them on.

* * *

><p>"I swear I had it with me," Charlie said, growing increasingly frustrated.<p>

"You can't just come and order a free drink," the barman snapped.

She looked up and glared at him. He looked far too young to be serving alcohol anyway.

"I'm not trying to order a free drink," she snapped back. "I'm a police officer for starters. I just lost my purse."

Brax took the moment to step up beside her. He offered his most charming smile.

"Run into a spot of bother, have you, Constable?" he asked.

She glared at him. While she thought Joey was a good person, she had not yet warmed to her friend.

"It's Senior Constable, actually," she said.

"I could always buy you a drink," he offered. "What's your poison?"

"I'm fine, thank you," she said coldly.

"Well, actually, you need to pay for the drink I poured," the barman told her.

She glared at him and then back at Brax. Looking round the bar, she spotted Joey and willed her to look up and come over. She was the kind of person Charlie trusted to help.

"Let me pay," Brax said casually, leaning on the bar.

He ordered two beers and handed his cash over.

"Care to join me?" he offered.

"No thanks," Charlie said.

At this rate, she didn't even want to drink the wine she had ordered. So far, today had not turned out to be good. She really should have just gone back to the hotel and stayed there. Stopping for a drink was clearly a bad idea.

"Well, you could thank me for the drink," Brax said.

"Thank you," she said tightly.

Before she could stop him, he'd leant in and kissed her.

* * *

><p>Joey jumped and turned round when she heard shouting. Her eyes landed on Charlie, who had pulled Brax's hands tightly behind his back and pushed him up against the bar in anger. Leaving the boys to it, she hurried over, asking what was happening.<p>

"She's a freak!" Brax declared.

"What did you do?" Joey accused.

"He assaulted me," Charlie said.

"I just kissed you! Most women like it!" Brax protested.

"He kissed you?" Joey asked.

"And it was unwelcome," Charlie said. "That's assault. I'm calling a colleague to take you down to the station."

"Charlie," Joey tried. "I'm sure he didn't mean to offend you. He just... likes you. Don't you?"

Brax tried to shrug but Charlie had too tight a hold of him.

"You don't need to arrest him," Joey said. "Just make him apologise."

Charlie looked at her and then around at the bar. Most people had turned to look. Eventually, she let him go.

"For the record," she said. "You do not have permission to try and stick your tongue down my throat. If you go near me again, I will have you charged. Have you got that?"

"Loud and clear," Brax said, holding his hands up in defence. "But for the record, most women just turn you down if they don't like you. They don't try to break your fucking arm."

"If you keep telling me that you attack women a lot…" Charlie began.  
>"Attack!" Brax laughed.<p>

"If you attack women a lot," Charlie continued. "Then I will arrest you."

"I think she must play for your team, Jo," Brax said, irritated.

"Maybe she just doesn't like you," Joey quipped, noting how anxious Charlie became. "Not everybody does."

She patted him affectionately on the arm and apologised to Charlie for her friend's bad behaviour. Charlie nodded and fled.

* * *

><p>Joey arrived home an hour later, still worried about Charlie. She'd genuinely looked afraid when she'd argued with Brax. Joey had at least temporarily fallen out with her friend for being such a bulldozer with someone who was clearly fragile.<p>

"Where have you been?" Ruby snapped when Joey arrived in the lounge.

She was in her pyjamas with a scowl on her face.

"I went for a drink with Brax," Joey said. "I told you."

"You just left me, Joey!"

"I didn't leave you!" Joey argued. "Brett was here."

"Like that makes a difference," Ruby said. "You left me."

"Rubes," Joey said gently, taking her hand and sitting her on the sofa. "I didn't leave you. You know I would never do that. I was just having some time with my friends, okay? I was five minutes away. I told you where I was going and I told you Brett would be here tonight."

"I just don't like it when you leave," Ruby said sadly.

Joey hugged her.

"Well, I'm back now," she said. "So, let's get you to bed, okay?"

Ruby nodded. Taking her sister's hand, Joey led her up to the bedroom. Flicking on the light, she lifted the blankets and gestured for the younger girl to climb in. Turning to close the curtains, she saw a figured huddled on the beach opposite the house.

"I'm heading out for a walk," Joey told Ruby, who looked immediately panicked. "I'll be back, alright? Don't worry."

"What if something happens to you?"

"Nothing will happen to me."

"You don't know that!" Ruby pointed out.

"I won't be long," Joey said, leaning over the bed. "I just need some fresh air. Tonight wasn't exactly the relaxing evening I planned on."

Ruby sighed dramatically.

"I've got my phone if you need me but try and get some sleep."

Ruby nodded. Joey kissed her forehead and left the room, turning the light back off as she did so. Trotting down the stairs, she crossed the lounge and the kitchen and headed out into the night.

* * *

><p>Charlie sat on the beach in the dark, gazing out at the sea in front of her.<p>

"Are you okay?" said a voice behind her.

She turned and saw Joey hovering close by.

"Fine," she replied, turning back to the water.

"Mind if I sit?"

Charlie shrugged. Taking it as an invitation, Joey settled herself beside her. She looked out at the water for several moments.

"Are you really okay?" she wondered.

"You mean aside from making a complete idiot of myself?" Charlie asked. "Aside from having made mistakes over and over again before I've even settled in?"

"Yeah," Joey said with a hint of a smile. "Aside from those things!"

Charlie laughed. She turned and looked into Joey's dark eyes. She couldn't help but think that she was beautiful. There was something comforting about Joey's presence and it was something Charlie appreciated.

"I think I'm going to head back to the city in the morning," she said. "I came here for the wrong reasons. And I just keep messing everything up. It's not worth it. I..."

She sighed.

"Maybe you should just give yourself more time?" Joey suggested, surprising by her strong internal objection to Charlie's departure.

"Time to stuff everything up more?" Charlie said unhappily. "I failed to catch a thief. I pissed off all of his friends. I've not made any friends of my own..."

"Hey!" Joey protested. "I thought you and I were friends."

"I just arrested another of your mates," Charlie pointed out. "You still want to know me?"

"I'm here, aren't I?"

Charlie studied her expression curiously.

"Why _are_ you here?" she wondered.

"I saw you out here when I was tucking my sister into bed," Joey explained. "Well, I didn't know it was you. I just saw your silhouette and figured whoever it was might be having a hard time so I came to check on them. And it was you."

Charlie smiled, still gazing at her.

"You're a good person," she said. "It's nice that you care so much about people."

Joey shrugged and looked back out at the horizon.

"It's just what anyone would do," she said.

"I don't think that many people would leave their home to check on someone who looked sad on the beach," Charlie replied. "So I think you're pretty special."

Joey shrugged again, not quite able to take the compliment.

"Oh!" she suddenly said.

Charlie watched her shift her position and dig her hand into the back pocket of her jeans.

"I've got this for you," Joey said, handing over a slip of paper.

Charlie looked confused as she read the name 'Leah' and a phone number.

"She works in a Diner over in Summer Bay," Joey explained. "And she's looking for a live-in tenant. It's just her and her son at the moment but I mentioned you and she told me to pass on her number if you were interested in renting a room. She's pretty nice."

Charlie couldn't help but smile.

"Thank you," she said quietly. "I really appreciate it."

"No problem. I mean, maybe when you've got a place to live you'll feel more settled. I do think you should give this place some time," Joey replied. "You might like it."

Charlie sighed and stared back out in front of her.

"Will this place give me time?" she asked. "Or will I always be the cop that charges in and screws up? Will I always be the woman who arrested someone for kissing her?"

Joey sighed in empathy.

"I think you can be whoever you want to be," she said. "Brax shouldn't have hit on you like that. He's just very cocksure and thinks that all women should fall at his feet."

She laughed.

"But he's harmless really," she added. "I think he's just attracted to you and didn't think it through. But I'll make sure he apologises."

Charlie shook her head and told her not worry.

"I overreacted," she said. "I just..."

"Look," Joey interrupted. "Maybe you did overreact. Or maybe nobody should be judging anyone for how they feel about situations. We don't know you. We don't know where you've come from or what experiences you've had. And I don't think you should apologise for panicking when some guy tries to kiss you without warning."

Charlie stared at her, wondering how she could be so compassionate.

"I know Brax is harmless," Joey continued. "But you don't. And why should you? I'd really stop beating yourself up about it. Why not just draw a line under it? Start afresh tomorrow?"

Charlie nodded and managed a weak smile.

"Speaking of, I'd better get back to the hotel," she said. "It's a long walk."

"You're walking?" Joey asked in alarm. "It's miles away!"

"I left my phone and my purse at the station," Charlie explained. "That's how the whole thing started tonight. Brax swooped in and tried to buy my drink for me when I couldn't pay."

She shook her head unhappily.

"My car got a flat this morning so I had to get a cab. Then my plan was to stop for a drink on the way home but I couldn't because I didn't have my phone or any money. So I'm kind of stuck. And I really don't want to walk back to the station. That's even further away than the hotel!"

"I'd drive you but I've had a couple of beers," Joey said, feeling a little guilty.

"Don't worry about it," Charlie said. "I couldn't ask you to do that."

"You could crash at mine?" Joey offered.

Charlie looked startled and began to decline.

"Look, you're alone with no cash and no phone," Joey said. "I'd feel terrible if I sent you on your way. My house is just across the street."

She pointed behind them. Charlie recognised the car in the drive.

"It's not a palace but it's comfy enough," Joey said. "Why don't you stay? Then I'll give you a lift to the station and then your hotel in the morning."

Charlie hesitated, although the idea was much more agreeable than walking for miles when she'd already had a long day.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Sure I'm sure," Joey said.

Standing up, she extended her hand, pulling Charlie to her feet. Together, they walked towards the house.

* * *

><p><em>Next time… Charlie meets Joey's family and Joey receives a reward for her good deeds…<em>


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Joey let Charlie into the house and led her through the kitchen.

"You can take my room," she said. "I'll sleep on the couch. We've always got people coming and going here so it'll be more private for you."

"Are you sure?" Charlie asked, feeling bad for kicking her out of her own bed.

Joey turned around and smiled.

"Of course," she said sweetly.

Charlie followed her up the stairs. Taking a left, Joey opened her bedroom door and turned the light on.

"Fortunately, I only changed the bedding this afternoon so it's all fresh and clean for you," Joey said. "Good timing, hey?"

Charlie smiled and nodded, thanking her. Joey turned and rummaged around for pyjamas and presented her friend with a new toothbrush.

"Is there anything else you need?" she asked. "Food? Drink? You don't have to sleep now if you don't want. Please don't think I'm banishing you!"

She laughed a little self consciously. Charlie grinned and assured her that she was both fine and tired.

"Okay, well, I'll leave you to get some sleep," Joey said.

She rummaged around to get her own pyjamas and a few belongings.

"Wake up whenever you want to," she said. "I'll be here all morning so just come down when you're ready. Sleep tight."

She smiled and headed towards the door. Charlie surprised her by catching hold of her hand.

"Thank you for looking after me," the police officer said earnestly.

"No problem, Charlie," Joey replied. "We're friends, aren't we?"

Charlie nodded and let her go. When the door was shut, she flopped onto the mattress and sighed. Closing her eyes, she was more than a little relieved to have had Joey take pity on her. She couldn't help but feel a little overwhelmed at her kindness, especially after what had happened with Brax earlier in the evening.

* * *

><p>In the morning, Joey woke up with a firm decision that they needed a new couch. Hauling herself up, she stretched and tried to work the kinks out of her back. She rubbed her eyes and padded into the kitchen in order to put the kettle on. Looking out of the window, she saw that all was quiet next door. She hoped that the boys wouldn't show up until Charlie had already left or breakfast could be a little awkward.<p>

"Morning," said a gruff voice behind her.

Joey turned to find her older brother looking half asleep.

"Morning," she replied. "Did you and Rubes argue last night or something?"

Brett looked confused and sank down at the kitchen table.

"No," he said. "Why?"

Joey pulled another mug down from the mug tree and made him a coffee too.

"She was really freaked out when I got back," she said. "She kept yelling at me about leaving her."

"You know what she's like," Brett said dismissively, accepting the drink.

She came to sit at the table too.

"She hates it whenever you disappear, even if she knows where you are. You've turned her into a pretty clingy brat."

Joey glared at him. Relations had never exactly been perfect between the siblings. Brett was never overt about it but he didn't particularly like the fact that his sister was a lesbian. But they were both tied to being Ruby's legal guardians and she was a very useful person to have around. She had a good job to bring the money in, she took full care of Ruby and she was extremely practical. She and Brett weren't exactly friends but they weren't really enemies either.

"That's not fair," she said. "I've done my best with her. Maybe if you helped a bit..."

"I do help!" Brett snapped. "I was here last night, wasn't I? You were out gallivanting!"

"You might have been here but you clearly didn't show her a nice time," Joey criticised.

"Hi," said a quiet voice behind them.

Brett raised his eyebrows and looked Charlie up and down.

"And you clearly gave a nice time to someone else," he commented.

Standing up, he informed his sister that he was going for a run and promptly left the house. Joey immediately apologised for her brother and gestured for Charlie to sit down.

"How did you sleep?" she asked.

"Fine," Charlie said. "Although several cats knocked on my door in the middle of the night."

"Oh, sorry!" Joey laughed. "They normally sleep with me. I should have warned you."

"It was fine," Charlie assured her. "They were very snugly."

She grinned as Joey stood and offered to make her coffee and breakfast.

"Thanks again for last night," Charlie said when she had a drink in front of her. "It was very kind of you."

"It was fine," Joey said. "I'd much rather you crashed here than tried to get back to The Sands all by yourself in the middle of the night. I can drive you to the police station whenever you're ready. I just need to get dressed and feed the zoo."

On cue, four cats charged into the kitchen meowing.

"Alright!" Joey laughed, getting up to feed them. "Good morning to you too!"

Charlie giggled and asked their names.

"This is Rumble," Joey said, pointing. "The tortie is called Lucy, her sister is called Cassie and this little girl is Freckle. She's blind in one eye."

Charlie bent down to pet them as they danced around their feet waiting to be fed.

"So, you have other animals?" Charlie asked.

"We have a rabbit, two guinea pigs, three hammies, five chickens and a goat," Joey informed her.

Charlie laughed.

"Not many then?" she joked.

"Nah," Joey laughed. "Just the average number of pets really."

With the cats munching away at their breakfast, Joey sat back down again.

"If you want to meet them all, you can come and do the breakfast rounds with me," she offered.

"Okay," Charlie accepted happily.

"Who are you?" said an adolescent voice behind her.

Charlie and Joey both turned to see Ruby in her pyjamas with her hair all over the place.

"Rubes, this is my friend Charlie," Joey said by way of introduction.

"Your friend or your 'friend'?" Ruby asked suspiciously.

"My friend," Joey confirmed quickly, feeling a little embarrassed.

Charlie studied Ruby's face, noting how unimpressed she was to have a guest. The teenager sat down opposite Joey.

"I'm spending the day with Casey today," she said.

"Sure," Joey said. "I've got a few things to do so meet you back here for dinner?"

Ruby nodded. She eyed Charlie curiously.

"Who are you?" she asked again.

"I've told you," Joey said. "This is Charlie."

"But how do you know each other?"

"She's new in town," Joey explained. "The new Senior Constable."

"Are you the woman who tried to bust Heath for stealing last week?" Ruby asked.

Charlie nodded, feeling more than a little anxious.

"Anyway," Joey said, moving the discussion on. "What are you and Casey up to today?"

"Just hanging out at the beach," Ruby said. "Surfing. The usual."

Joey nodded.

"Sorry about last night, by the way," Ruby added. "I didn't mean to be grumpy."

"Don't worry about it," Joey said. "I'm going to go and get showered and dressed. Be nice?"

Ruby nodded. Joey stood up and left them to it.

* * *

><p>It was eleven o'clock when Charlie and Joey climbed into the car. Charlie had gone round and fed the animals with Joey after a somewhat awkward breakfast with her sister. They drove up to the police station and Joey waited in the car while Charlie dashed in to get her things.<p>

"Hotel?" Joey checked.

"Yes, please," Charlie replied.

Turning some music on, Joey glided along the coast road and in the direction of Summer Bay.

"So do you think you're going to stick around?" Joey asked.

"I think so," Charlie said. "I'll give things another shot. And I'll call that woman this afternoon and see if she still has a room available. I think I'll feel better when I'm more settled."

Joey smiled, pleased with the answer.

"And the fact that there's at least one person here with a heart of gold also helps," Charlie added.

Joey blushed, not knowing what to say. Charlie was amused by her modesty.

* * *

><p>Arriving at the hotel car park, Joey climbed out of the car.<p>

"Are you okay to fix your tire yourself or do you want help?" she asked.

"I was just going to call a garage or something," Charlie replied, feeling bad for the amount of help her friend was offering.

"I've got the right equipment in the back of the car," Joey said. "I could do it for you if you like? It won't take long."

"But you've already done so much for me," Charlie pointed out.

"There isn't a limit," Joey grinned. "Plus, the garage will charge you. There's no point spending money when you don't have to."

"Okay," Charlie said hesitantly. "If you're sure?"

"Lead the way," Joey instructed.

* * *

><p>Charlie stood behind Joey as she sorted the tire out. Car maintenance was not her forte and she was relieved to have met someone so capable. Standing back, she couldn't help but admire her new friend. She was stunning and there was something rather attractive about watching her work.<p>

"Done," Joey said proudly, standing up and admiring her own handiwork.

She shoved her hands in her pockets and gazed into Charlie's face.

"Anything else you need while I'm here?" she asked, suddenly aware of just how close they were standing together.

She swallowed a little nervously. Between Brax and Ruby, she figured that Charlie must know she was gay by now and she couldn't help but fret that she might think she was trying to hit on her or something. While Joey was far from immune to Charlie's beauty, she had genuinely wanted to be kind to her, not try to get something out of it.

"I think I'm all sorted now," Charlie said with a smile. "Thank you for everything."

"It's really not a problem," Joey assured her. "And um... well, if you're at a loose end one day and wanted to hang out or something, give me a call. I can... I can give you my number if you like."

Charlie smiled, accepting the gesture. Both women pulled of their phones in order to exchanged phone numbers. Joey remained very aware of how close they were to each other. She could detect the faint scent of Charlie's perfume and took in every feature of her beautiful face.

"Well, I guess I'd better be going," she said nervously, although really she had no inclination to leave Charlie's company.

Charlie smiled and nodded but didn't move back in order to let her go.

"Thanks again for everything," she said. "I really do appreciate it. You made a really bad day not so bad in the end."

"I aim to please," Joey said, smiling shyly.

Knowing she was probably being hypocritical after what had happened with Brax the night before, Charlie leant in and kissed her.

* * *

><p><em>Next time… Charlie and Joey go on a date and Joey reveals more about her background…<em>


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

Joey was surprised to find Charlie's mouth pressed against hers but the sensation of her lips was far from unpleasant. Wrapping her arms around her, Joey pulled Charlie closer. She felt Charlie's hands on her back as she nudged her against the newly fixed car. Feeling bold, Joey touched Charlie's lips tentatively with her tongue and felt a thrill shoot through her as Charlie invited her in. They kissed passionately and tenderly, making the moment last for as long as they could reasonably get away with. Pulling back, Charlie was overcome with shyness. She blushed as she forced herself to look Joey in the eye.

"Well, um... that was unexpected," Joey admitted, also feeling shy.

Charlie blushed further and nodded. Releasing Joey from her arms, she stepped back, shoved her hands in her pockets and apologised.

"It did say it was bad," Joey said. "Just... a surprise."

"And a bit hypocritical," Charlie added, feeling more than a little self conscious.

"Maybe," Joey agreed. "But I'm not complaining."

Charlie managed a smile.

"Do you... do you want to come up to my room?"

Joey raised her eyebrows. Charlie turned even pinker.

"I mean just to chat," she said quickly. "Or have coffee or..."

She shook her head. Her heart pounded in her chest and she looked down at her shoes.

"That sounds nice," Joey said.

Charlie's head shot back up. Smiling nervously, she led the way into the hotel and up towards her room.

* * *

><p>Seven minutes later, Charlie and Joey were perched on the modest bed in the small hotel room.<p>

"Brax clearly has a better gaydar than I do," Joey said with a self conscious laugh.

Charlie grinned.

"Well, it's not really something I advertise," she ventured. "But I guess I couldn't help myself this time. I... I really like you."

Joey matched her smile and admitted that she really liked her too.

"Really?" Charlie remarked with a raised eyebrow. "Because you really didn't the first time we met."

"Well, we've met several times since then," Joey reminded her. "And I definitely like you."

"So, you're... gay?" Charlie checked.

"To quote _Imagine Me and You_, I'm ecstatic!" Joey giggled.

Charlie laughed and clapped a hand over her mouth in embarrassment when a snort slipped out. It only served to make both women laugh more.

"And you?" Joey asked when they'd recovered.

Charlie nodded.

"I mean, I think I'm probably bi if I'm being really honest about it but I only have relationships with women," she explained. "I don't feel comfortable enough with guys to get close to them."

Joey nodded. She couldn't help but wonder if there was a bad experience in Charlie's past. It would certainly explain her reaction to Brax the night before.

"And you're single?" Charlie asked, suddenly worried.

"Definitely single," Joey said. "I've never really handled relationships all that well."

"How come?"

"I've been dumped for multiple reasons," Joey said, although not unhappily. "I'm too caught up with everything else in my life, I don't make time for girlfriends, I'm not emotionally available..."

"That sounds like me!" Charlie admitted.

Joey smiled at her.

"Well then maybe I ought to take you out on a date," she suggested. "We might make a good match."

Charlie gazed at her for a moment. Joey silently began to fret that she had overstepped the line.

"I'd really like that," Charlie accepted.

"Well, I'm on sister duty tonight but what about lunch? Like... now?" Joey asked anxiously.

Again she was calmed by Charlie's smile and eager acceptance.

"Maybe we could drive to the Diner I told you about?" Joey suggested. "You could kill two birds with one stone – spend time with me and chat to Leah about renting a room from her."

"Sounds good," Charlie said, standing up. "Shall we...?"

Joey nodded and followed her back out of the room.

* * *

><p>Charlie and Joey sat together in a corner of the Diner in Summer Bay. Joey had made introductions between Charlie and Leah and they had arranged for Charlie to view the property later that night.<p>

"So you're babysitting tonight?" Charlie asked as they waited for their meals to arrive.

"Yeah, I've got some making up to do," Joey said. "She was pretty upset with me for going out last night. I hope she wasn't rude to you or anything when I was in the shower."

"Oh, she was fine," Charlie assured her. "What was her name, by the way? I didn't catch it earlier."

"Ruby," Joey said.

Charlie nodded thoughtfully. She sipped her drink, trying to stop her mind from going into overdrive.

"How come... how come it's you that looks after her?" she asked. "If that's not too personal."

"We um... we lost our parents five years ago," Joey explained. "Brett and I became Ruby's legal guardians and I guess we've been muddling along since then."

"Sorry to hear about your parents," Charlie said.

"We don't really know what happened to them," Joey admitted. "They just upped and left one day. The police have never bee clear about whether they'd had an accident and we just couldn't find the bodies or if they left us. But they tracked their credit cards pretty far so it was probably the latter. I don't know which would be a better scenario, to be honest."

Charlie couldn't hide the surprise from her face.

"Sorry," Joey said quickly. "That's probably not something for a first date."

She grinned. Charlie smiled back.

"I like hearing about your life," she said honestly. "Even the sad stuff. I'm glad that you can trust me with something like that."

Joey thanked her. Leah approached with their meals. She couldn't help but notice the connection between the two women. Joey wasn't local exactly but most people knew her. Leah thought she was a nice person and it was sweet to see the way she gazed into this new woman's eyes.

"So," Joey said when Leah had departed. "I've poured out my deep, dark secrets – what about yours?"

Charlie looked a little nervous for a moment but covered with a smile.

"I don't really have any," she said vaguely. "Born and raised in the city, trained as a cop and that's pretty much all I've been doing since then. Nothing terribly exciting."

"I find that hard to believe," Joey replied. "You're far too beautiful to be uninteresting. I'm really looking forward to getting to know you."

* * *

><p><em>Next time… Watson catches Charlie and Joey in a compromising position…<em>


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

Having spent almost the whole day together, both Charlie and Joey were in a good mood. Driving back towards Charlie's hotel, their earlier kiss was playing on both their minds.

"What time do you have to be back?" Charlie asked, hoping that they might get a little more time together.

"Not for another couple of hours," Joey said. "And um... we have a bit of a barbeque planned tomorrow if you'd like to come?"

Charlie smiled, accepting instantly.

"If... if maybe you wanted to hang out a bit more today, we could," Joey ventured. "We could... I don't know, go for a drive or something?"

Again, Charlie smiled and accepted. Turning away from the direction of the hotel, Joey headed for the coast. Noticing that one of her hands had dropped to the gear stick, Charlie made the bold gesture of touching her. Joey glanced at her and smiled. Encouraged, Charlie kept her hand there and the drove along in comfortable silence.

* * *

><p>Watson was out on patrol. She was feeling a little down since Joey had made it abundantly clear that nothing was going to happen between them again. The Collins family had invited her to a barbeque, which she wasn't all that sure about. On the one hand, Joey was intoxicating and she was loathe to reject an opportunity to spend time with her. And on the other, she felt the need the hide away and protect herself. If Joey didn't feel the same way she did, then she knew she was only going to get more hurt.<p>

* * *

><p>Having pulled up along the beach front just out of Summer Bay, Joey had cut the engine and she and Charlie had simultaneously launched themselves into each other's arms. Kissing passionately, Joey wrapped her arms around Charlie, pulling her closer. The car setting was somewhat awkward but neither wanted to pass up the opportunity to get better acquainted. In one swift motion, Joey leant over and pulled Charlie's chair back. The police officer cried out in surprise but grinned when Joey moved to straddle her.<p>

"Smooth," she smirked.

"You know it," Joey smirked back.

Pausing, she gazed into Charlie's eyes, unable to stop herself from marvelling out loud at how beautiful she was. Charlie blushed and pulled her closer, crushing their lips together as they continued to get carried away.

* * *

><p>Spotting a parked car with steamed up windows, Watson pulled up beside them. There was a part of her that was always amused by people getting caught in inappropriate situations. Focussing on the windows, she didn't pay all that much attention to the rest of the car and therefore didn't recognise who it belonged to until she had already knocked on the window. Her heart sank as she heard various scrabbling noises, presumably as the occupants made themselves decent. After a couple of moments, a very flushed Joey Collins wound down the window. She was just about sitting in her own seat while Charlie Buckton was trying to put her own chair into an upright position.<p>

"Classy," was all Watson said. "And Charlie, you of all people should know that it's an offence to public decency."

With that, she stormed away. Charlie was both embarrassed and confused. Noting Joey's guilty expression, she successfully put two and two together.

"Are you two...?"

"We were," Joey admitted. "I mean, we were more like friends with benefits really. I ended it because I didn't feel the same way she did."

She sighed and rubbed her temples, apologising.

"Everyone's got a past," Charlie pointed out. "You don't need to apologise – not to me anyway."

Joey flashed her a grateful smile. Glancing at her watch, she realised with some sadness that she really ought to be taking Charlie back to the hotel.

* * *

><p>Arriving at last outside The Sands, Joey tenderly kissed Charlie goodbye.<p>

"Thanks for such a lovely day," the police officer said a little shyly.

"It's definitely going down in history as one of my favourites," Joey said.

Reaching out, she cupped Charlie's cheek, gazing into her eyes.

"See you tomorrow afternoon?"

"Absolutely," Charlie agreed.

Kissing one more time, Charlie just about managed to get out of the car. Joey watched her approach the front door and reluctantly turned away. Of all the things she thought might have happened when she and Charlie had first met, this was definitely not one of them. But she most certainly didn't object.

* * *

><p>That evening, Charlie drove towards the address Leah had given her and the Diner owner offered a tour round the house.<p>

"So, is it just you who lives here?" Charlie asked when they returned to the kitchen.

"Me and my son, VJ," Leah said. "He's eleven. Do you think you could face living with a kid?"

Charlie smiled and nodded. She had no problems with that.

"I'll charge you a bit of rent and then we can split bills in half," Leah said. "If that's okay with you."

"It's fine," Charlie assured her.

"Any questions?"

"When can I move in?"

"So are you an item now then?" Ruby asked. "Because that was pretty fast. Are you _sure _you slept on the couch last night?"

Joey laughed but very quickly insisted that she had been honourable to a woman in trouble.

"But less honourable today, hey?" Ruby teased.

The siblings were on the sofa, having eaten dinner and were vaguely watching a DVD while tucking into ice cream.

"Nothing actually happened," Joey said. "I want to make sure I do things right this time. You know what I'm like. I've made a tonne of mistakes but I really like Charlie. I want it to work out."

Ruby grinned, feeling both amused and touched.

"You're not going to love her more than me though, are you?" she checked.

"I could never love anyone more than I love you," Joey replied without hesitation.

"Would you love me more if I was your real sister?" Ruby asked a little nervously.

"Ruby Collins, I love you with my whole heart," Joey told her firmly. "I couldn't love you more and I couldn't love you less. You're everything to me, you know that. And you also know that you _are _my real sister. I don't care what DNA or birth certificates say. You're my sister. End of story."

Ruby put the ice cream tub down and hugged her.

"I feel sad when I think about my birth mother," she admitted, although it wasn't really news to Joey. "I always wonder what I could possibly have done at a month old to make her hate me enough to send me away. But then I think if she'd kept me, I would have missed out on so much. I mean, no birth mother – whoever she is – could ever be as awesome you are."

"Hell, no!" Joey giggled, putting her arm around her.

"For starters, you've stuck with me through thick and thin," Ruby added. "She abandoned me at the first hurdle, whatever that was. And when you had to chance to walk away, you refused. You fought so hard to keep me and I'll always be grateful to you for that."

"No need to be grateful," Joey said. "It's a pleasure to be in your life, Ruby. It makes me happy."

* * *

><p><em>Next time… Charlie attends Joey's barbeque…<em>


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

Charlie was nervous when she knocked on the door of Joey's house. She'd moved into Leah's place that morning, although not had time to unpack anything before she'd gone to the Diner to buy a cake and hopefully show up to the party with something nice. The more time that passed without the door being opened, the more she began to fret that she'd got the time or location wrong, or perhaps she hadn't been invited at all. Yesterday seemed like some kind of glorious dream that she couldn't quite wake up from.

She was just about to turn around and run home when the door opened. Joey stood there, looking absolutely stunning. She was in black, three quarter length trousers and a tight fitting, purple. sleeveless top. Her hair hung loose over her shoulders and she had a lovely smile on her face.

"I'm glad you made it," she said, welcoming her inside.

Charlie stepped into the kitchen and offered out the cake.

"I'd like to say I made but it would be a lie," she confessed.

Joey grinned and set it down on the table.

"Thanks for the gesture," she said, taking a moment to look Charlie up and down.

She was wearing black shorts that showed off particularly long and slender legs and a white sleeveless top that clung in all the right places.

"Is Watson here?" she asked randomly.

A smirk teased Joey's lips.

"And there was me thinking you came here to see me!" she remarked.

Charlie laughed, blushed and explained that she wanted to kiss her but didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings. Joey leant in and captured her lips, wrapping her arms around her.

"She's not here," she said when they parted. "_Because _her feelings are hurt, I think. But it means that I can show you off to everyone with pride."

She smiled and kissed her again.

"Ready?" she asked.

"As I'll ever be," Charlie said a little hesitantly.

Taking her hand, Joey led her through the house and into the back garden where Brett, Ruby, Casey, Brax, Heath and a few other people Charlie didn't know were milling around. A man she vaguely recognised as running a restaurant in Summer Bay appeared to be squabbling with Brax about how to control a perfect barbeque.

"They're like it all the time," Joey said dismissively. "Don't worry about it."

Keeping hold of her hand, Joey began to introduce Charlie to each of her friends in turn.

* * *

><p>The afternoon was going well. Charlie and Brax had both apologised to each other for their previous misunderstanding and the police officer was relieved to find Joey's friends fairly pleasant company. Angelo's tendency to leer at her was a little off putting but Ruby and Casey were both pretty friendly.<p>

"I'm heading out to the shops to get more drinks," Joey said to Charlie. "Want to come with me?"

She smiled. Charlie had no hesitation when it came to accepting. Proud to take her hand again, Joey led her back through the house. In the living room, she rummaged through a drawer for her keys and purse. Turning around, she smiled to feel Charlie close behind her.

"Thank you for making such an effort with my friends," Joey said quietly, leaning in to kiss her.

Charlie wrapped her arms around her, deepening their contact.

"They're nice people," she said honestly.

"They are," Joey agreed. "Although, sorry about Angelo. He's not really my friend. Brax is trying to keep him on side so that they can work a little better together."

"They don't seem to like each other very much," Charlie pointed out.

"They don't."

"Then why are they business partners?"

"Angelo used to be a cop," Joey explained, sitting them down on the couch and forgetting all about the drinks run. "He accidentally shot another cop but somehow or other, the charges were dropped. He came back here on the promise that he'd bring down this human trafficking ring thing, which he did but then he deliberately let one of the lead criminals escape with his girlfriend. It all got pretty messy and he was finally kicked out of the force once and for all. Somehow or other, he was able to get a liquor licence and he set up the restaurant. But he ran into some financial trouble earlier this year – not least because the boys got a bit carried away and destructive on some meat market night he organised. Anyway, long story short, Brax has a lot of fingers in a lot of pies. He makes a pretty decent amount of money and he bought into the business. Neither of them like working together though. You should hear the things Brax says about him!"

She laughed.

"He does seem like a bit of a..."

"Perve?" Joey asked.

Charlie snorted and nodded.

"I will deck him if he keeps leering at you," Joey told her. "I'm pretty keen on keeping you to myself if I can."

"You can," Charlie assured her. "There's nobody I'd rather spend my time with."

Joey smiled before leaning in to kiss her. With the drinks run entirely forgotten now, they tumbled back onto the sofa together, immediately wrapped up in each other. Charlie felt multiple thrills shoot through her as she felt Charlie's lips on hers.

"Joey!" someone squeaked.

Joey looked up guiltily to find Ruby standing behind the couch with her hands on her hips.

"You were meant to be getting more drinks," she said.

"I was!" Joey said as she and Charlie hurried to sit up and readjust their clothes.

"Clearly!"

"I got... distracted."

"Well, I came in to see if you were still here because I think Brax and Angelo are about to beat the crap out of each other," Ruby said unhappily.

"I'll deal with it," Joey promised.

She kissed Charlie's hand, instructed her to wait and Ruby to keep her company before dashing outside to fix whatever situation her best friend had provoked this time.

* * *

><p><em>Next time… Joey breaks up the fight, Charlie and Joey spend the night together and Charlie learns that Ruby is adopted…<em>


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

"Settle down or get the hell out of my house," Joey warned, having prised Brax and Angelo apart.

Angelo was immediately annoyed that she only speaking to him. He hadn't been the only one fighting.

"Technically, I'm not in your house," he pointed out.

"Do you think I'm in the mood for technicalities?" Joey snapped. "You're on my property. And I'm telling you now that there are rules to follow here, the most important of which is no violence. Especially not in front of my sister who I know is standing right behind me instead of staying in the lounge with Charlie, like I told her to."

She turned her head and raised an eyebrow at Ruby who looked particularly meek. Turning back to Angelo, Joey glared.

"Are you listening to me?" she demanded.

"He started it," Angelo said, not caring that he sounded like a child.

"I doubt that," Joey replied. "He's painfully aware of the rules."

Brax shifted a little. Joey had indeed made in extremely clear that no fights were to be had around Ruby. He'd spoken in a distinctly higher pitch for a few hours after that particular lesson and it wasn't something he wanted to repeat.

"So, play nicely or get out."

"This barbeque was fucking boring anyway!" Angelo said, storming towards the back gate.

"And don't swear in front of kids either!" Joey yelled after him.

Brax couldn't help but laugh. Joey tried not to look too triumphant as she turned back to Ruby and Charlie. She eyed her sister.

"I thought I told you to stay inside," she said, hands on hips.

"Well, you obviously knew I wouldn't be able to resist," Ruby pointed out, fluttering her eyelashes in a bid to look innocent.

Joey chuckled and let her go back to Casey.

"I tried to convince her to stay inside," Charlie said. "But she was pretty stubborn about it. It must run in the family!"

Joey chuckled and took her hand, finally remembering that they had been heading out on a drinks run.

"You know, you're pretty hot when you're all masterful like that," Charlie commented as they walked through the house and out of the front door together.

"Only when I'm masterful?" Joey asked in mock horror.

Charlie giggled and slipped an arm around her waist.

"Okay," she conceded. "You're hot all the time."

Joey paused and pulled her into her arms for a kiss.

* * *

><p>The evening drew in and Charlie and Joey were curled up on a bench together, enjoying chatting with Joey's friends. Charlie was surprised at how comfortable she felt around Joey, not to mention how coupley. It wasn't how she usually behaved. She wasn't the kind of person to let people get close to her. But it was like Joey changed all the rules of her heart. Suddenly, she had found someone that she cared for, trusted and wanted to be with. It wasn't exactly what Charlie had moved to the coast to achieve but she was happy to have found someone that already meant so much to her.<p>

"So, um... did you bring your toothbrush and PJ's?" Joey asked as casually as possible.

Inside, her heart was hammering away in her chest with surprise nerves.

"My...?" Charlie asked in amusement.

She flushed when she realised what Joey meant.

"Um... no, but um... well, I could, uh..."

"You still have a toothbrush here," Joey remembered. "So, if you wanted to stay you could use that. If you wanted to. You don't have to. I mean, I'm not expecting anything, although, I wouldn't say no and..."

Charlie kissed her, cutting off the ramble.

"What about pyjamas?" she asked when they parted.

"No, sorry," Joey said seriously. "I can't provide those."

"You want me to sleep in my clothes?" Charlie asked in mock horror.

"Nope," Joey smirked. "I definitely don't want that!"

She grinned wickedly. Charlie laughed.

"Okay," she said. "But you'd better not be wearing clothes either."

"I don't plan on it," Joey promised.

* * *

><p>Having sent their guests home and Ruby to bed, Charlie and Joey found themselves alone in Joey's bedroom. Feeling suddenly shy, Joey reached out and stroked Charlie's hair before leaning in to kiss her. Charlie returned the pressure on her lips, pulling Joey in closer. Their kiss became more heated as they tumbled back onto the bed together. Joey immediately began to fumble with Charlie's clothes. She paused before she pulled her t-shirt off and looked into Charlie's eyes.<p>

"You definitely want this?" she checked. "I'm not rushing things?"

"I want this," Charlie assured her. "I... I really care about you."

Joey smiled and kissed her again.

"I care about you too," she admitted. "Almost more than I'm comfortable with."

Charlie looked momentarily worried.

"I just... I don't do relationships all that well," Joey explained a little awkwardly. "I care about you more than I've cared about any other woman and it's really only been a few days. I'm worried about stuffing things up."

Charlie smiled, making Joey giggle by kissing the tip of her nose.

"I vote that we don't over-think anything," she said. "We both suck at relationships but maybe together, something might work. I like you. You like me. Let's just see what happens, okay?"

Joey nodded, pulling Charlie immediately closer and resuming her eagerness to shed her of her clothes. When her partner was half undressed, Joey flipped her onto her back, kissing her way down her body until she reached the top of her shorts. Making short work of them, she kissed her way back up her body, moving into focus on her breasts. Charlie looked up at the ceiling as she felt Joey's warm lips and tongue teasing her. She felt thrills shoot through her at an alarming rate. Her body and her soul surrendered to her new lover completely.

* * *

><p>It was late when Charlie and Joey snuggled up beneath the blankets together. They kissed tenderly in the dark.<p>

"You're amazing," Charlie breathed between kisses.

"You're pretty incredible yourself, Charlie," Joey replied. "That was... wow."

"It was very wow," Charlie agreed with a grin.

Joey kissed her again, trailing her lips along her jaw, down her neck and onto her collarbone. Charlie shivered in delight. Joey happily returned to her lips.

"So, will I get to see you again?" Joey asked hopefully. "You know, not to get all mushy or anything but I'd really like to."

"I'd like to as well," Charlie said honestly.

Joey beamed at her. Charlie told her that she was adorable.

"Don't tell anyone," Joey giggled. "I'll lose my street cred!"

"Your secret dies with me!" Charlie promised.

They kissed again and again, letting each one linger longer than the first.

"So, what are you plans for tomorrow?" the police officer eventually asked.

"Work," Joey said. "I start at nine. You?"

"I start work at eleven," Charlie told her.

"Oh, well, maybe I can get held up temporarily in that case!" Joey said.

Charlie laughed, wondering if she would get into trouble.

"I'll throw a couple of hours onto my shift. Nobody will mind. They're used to me getting distracted."

"Oh, really?" Charlie remarked with interest.

Joey flushed and quickly assured her that it wasn't usually with women, and it definitely wasn't with anyone even nearly comparable to her. Charlie rewarded her with a kiss.

"I have to get up and take Ruby and Casey to school," Joey ventured, shifting to rest her head on Charlie's shoulder. "But I'm all yours after that."

"You drive them to school?" Charlie asked.

"Oh, please don't start," Joey said a little defensively. "Brett's always laying into me about mollycoddling Ruby but it's a half an hour walk and I do let her walk home, I just want to be able to give her the best start to the day. I don't want her to be tired before her lessons even start. I..."

Charlie interrupted her with a firm kiss on the lips.

"I wasn't criticising," she said, with their lips still touching.

Joey blushed and apologised.

"It's a bit of a sensitive subject," she admitted.

"So I gather," Charlie replied.

"I just... I want to do my best for her, you know? She hasn't exactly had the easiest life."

"Because of your parents?"

"Yeah," Joey sighed. "Brett and I had to fight so hard to keep her with us. I was only eighteen and far too young and inexperienced to be considered as a parent but I had to be. I couldn't let her go back into care, not after everything."

Charlie froze.

"Back into care?" she asked.

Joey nodded and snuggled a little closer, unaware of Charlie's anxiety.

"My parents adopted her when she was three," she explained. "Her real Mum abandoned her when she was barely a month old. It messed her up pretty badly, especially when my parents disappeared. She felt like she'd been abandoned all over again. So I have to do my best for her. I have to take care of her and make sure that she knows every day that she's loved, and that regardless of blood, she is my sister. We're family. No matter what."

Charlie nodded a little stiffly, mumbling that that was nice.

"Are you okay?" Joey asked curiously, lifting her head.

"Yeah," Charlie said, plastering a smile on her face. "Just tired. You wore me out!"

Joey giggled and kissed her one more time before promising to let her get some sleep at last.

* * *

><p><em>Next time… Charlie tries to find out more about Ruby…<em>


	11. Chapter 11

_Ten points have to be award to jensy25 for guessing waaaaaaay early about why Charlie has moved to Summer Bay! Love, IJKS xxx_

**Chapter Eleven**

Joey moaned in her sleep as she heard an aggressive banging noise. Keeping her eyes shut, she tried to block the noise out but it persisted.

"What?" she finally yelled towards the door.

Brett opened up and glared at her.

"It's quarter to nine. You're meant to be driving Ruby to school."

"Well, why didn't you wake me sooner? Or better still, why didn't you get off your arse and take her yourself?"

Brett looked at his sister and the sleeping woman beside her with disdain.

"I've got stuff to do," he said before walking back out of the room.

Growling in frustration, Joey flopped back on the pillows. She turned to look at Charlie, sleeping serenely beside her. Last night had been beautiful. She didn't think she had ever met someone so perfect before.

"Charlie," she whispered, leaning in close.

The police officer gently began to stir before coming to her senses too quickly and bolting upright in bed. She looked bewildered for a moment and Joey couldn't help but think the way her hair tumbled around her so messily, was particularly adorable.

"I have to take the kids to school but then I'll be back, okay," she told her. "So, just hang out here. I won't be long."

"Okay," Charlie said, still sleepy.

Joey leant in and kissed her before hurriedly throwing some clothes on and leaving the room, hollering her sister's name.

Charlie watched the empty door space for a few moments before flopped back onto the bed. She sighed heavily. It had been amazing to spend the night with Joey but the actual sleeping part had been difficult. Her mind was reeling with the new information about Ruby. This could be the girl that she had come all this way to find. She both wanted Ruby to be the one, and she didn't. It would make them a ready made family, what with Joey's responsibility for the teenager. If Joey was her parent and Charlie was Joey's girlfriend, being her Mum wouldn't be so hard. But then, if she told them both the truth, what if she was rejected on all counts? Ruby could easily hate the woman who had abandoned her as a baby and if Ruby hated her then it would make sense that Joey would too. It was a complex situation that nobody yet understood and even Charlie didn't know for sure. Either she was about to make her own dreams come true or a new nightmare was set to begin.

* * *

><p>Charlie was up and dressed and ready to leave when Joey arrived home, full of apologies for oversleeping and not being organised enough, although really nobody would ever expect anything better from her. She was a chaotic kind of girl.<p>

"I stopped off to get us some breakfast," Joey said, finding Charlie sitting on the edge of the bed putting her shoes on. "And some decent coffees from the Diner."

Charlie smiled and thanked her. Joey faltered for a moment.

"You're not going, are you?" she asked nervously. "I thought you didn't have to start until eleven."

"I don't," Charlie said brightly. "But I do have to go home and get changed and everything before work so I don't have long."

"How long?"

Charlie grabbed her watch from the bedside table. It was nine thirty five.

"Just under an hour?" she said.

"That sounds good," Joey said. "Maybe we could take breakfast outside and sit in the sunshine?"

Doing her best to cover her anxiety, Charlie agreed and followed her out of the room.

* * *

><p>Outside in the back garden, Charlie couldn't help but enjoy Joey's company. Her heart was racing at the prospect of having found her long lost daughter but Joey still somehow managed to make her feel good. She had no idea what she was meant to do next, although losing her new girlfriend didn't feel like an option.<p>

"Did Ruby get off to school okay?" she finally asked.

"Yeah," Joey replied with a smile. "She didn't wake me up because she was hoping for a skive but alas, she wasn't that lucky!"

Charlie chuckled.

"She likes pushing the boundaries when she can then?"

"Yeah," Joey admitted. "But all in all, she's a good kid."

"You seem to love her a lot."

"I do."

"And she loves you."

"I guess I've been the only constant in her life, really," Joey explained. "I mean, I know there's Brett and he's good with her and everything but they don't have the same kind of emotional connection that we do. And she loves Casey but he's not quite family, not in the same way."

Charlie nodded.

"Does she um... does she know much about her birth mother?" she asked, her voice a little higher in pitch than she intended.

"Nothing really," Joey said. "Just that she kept her for a month and then decided she couldn't cope. Ruby has a letter from her but it doesn't give much away and it's just signed 'your Mum', not with a name or anything like that. I can't help but think she's better off though. I mean, if she could give her baby away then..."

She sighed. Charlie tensed.

"Well, maybe there were circumstances," she said, trying not to sound too defensive. "I mean, she could have been really young or..."

"If she was old enough to have unprotected sex..." Joey interjected.

"Or maybe she was forced or something like that," Charlie continued. "If you don't know the circumstances..."

"I know," Joey sighed. "I know I shouldn't judge but I... I look at Ruby and more than anything, I just feel so sad for the poor woman who gave her away. She's so beautiful, Charlie. She's perfect. She's funny, smart, charming... I can't help but feel sad over all that her mother has missed out on. So I hope she did give her up for a reason, like you say."

Charlie nodded, still feeling uncomfortable.

"I'm sure nobody would give up their baby lightly," she said. "She must have had a reason. Has... has Ruby ever expressed an interest in finding her at all?"

"Sometimes," she said. "But she wants to wait until she's a bit older. When she feels strong enough, we'll go find her together – me and Ruby."

Charlie smiled.

"She's very lucky to have you, Joey."

"I know!" Joey giggled.

Charlie laughed and reached out to hold her hand.

"Honestly," Joey said more seriously. "I think I'm the lucky one. Ruby gives me a purpose. There's nothing I wouldn't do for her. And with the company I keep, it would have been pretty easy for my path to get diverted. I wasn't the best behaved teenager in the world, I must admit! But I love her and I'm responsible for her so even when I don't feel like it, I know I have to be the best that I can be for her. I have to put her first and give her the happiest life I can manage."

Charlie squeezed her hand.

"Well, I think you're doing an amazing job," she encouraged.

* * *

><p><em>Next time… Charlie blows hot and cold with Joey…<em>


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

"Charlie!" Joey called, sounding rather more desperate than her dignity could cope with.

It had been five days since they'd spent the night together but the police officer had immediately stopped taking her calls. She didn't reply to text messages and Joey's own anxiety was suggesting that she was also avoiding seeing her around.

"Hi, Joey," Charlie said a little anxiously, looking very much like she had been caught out.

She supposed she should have known that she and Joey would eventually meet at work, although she had hoped for a little more time. Her head was so full of confusion that she'd opted to follow her instinct to flee the complicated situation. But now, with a panicked, oversized sheep causing havoc and refusing to be contained, Joey and her colleagues had been called.

"What's going on?" Joey asked.

"Sheep escaped," Charlie replied, knowing full well that wasn't what she was talking about.

"I mean with us," Joey said. "Honestly, Charlie if you were just using me, could you at least be grown up enough to say that? I mean, that's the message I'm getting but unfortunately, I like you so much that I can't help hoping that it's just some misunderstanding."

She shoved her hands in her pockets and looked at the floor, hating that she had left herself so vulnerable. Normally, she was flighty kind of a person, if a little fickle. She cared about the world and everyone in it but she had never been that good at relationships. All she had ever planned on having were casual flings but for a moment there, she'd really thought something longer term could work out between her and Charlie.

"I wasn't using you," Charlie said. "I've just been really busy, you know, with moving and work and..."

"So busy that you couldn't even reply to a text message?" Joey asked.

Charlie apologised again. Shrugging, Joey merely asked to be put out of her misery.

"Are you free for dinner tonight?" Charlie asked, surprising them both.

"That's not quite what I was expecting!" Joey chuckled.

Charlie smiled, stepping forward and taking Joey's hands.

"I really like you, Joey," she said honestly. "And I'm sorry for messing you around. I've just been all over the place. I'm not all that good at the relationship thing."

"Me neither," Joey admitted.

"Well, maybe we could start afresh?" Charlie asked hopefully. "Figure it all out together?"

Joey smiled and squeezed her hands gently.

"I'd like that," she said.

Glancing around to check that nobody was watching, Charlie stole a quick kiss.

"So, dinner tonight?" she asked.

"Yes please!"

They kissed one more time.

"So, where's this sheep then?" Joey wondered.

* * *

><p>Joey arrived home, late as ever and trying not to get too stressed out about her upcoming date with Charlie. But her need to be perfect was a little overwhelming.<p>

"You look flustered," Ruby commented from the kitchen table where she was obediently doing her homework with Casey.

"I have a date," Joey said proudly.

Both teenagers put their pens down.

"Who with?" Ruby asked a little suspiciously.

"Charlie," Joey informed her, unable to stop grinning.

Her face fell at the look of horror on her little sister's face.

"What the hell did you go and do that for?" Ruby demanded. "She's a bitch, Joey. She slept with you and then she abandoned you! She..."

"Rubes, it's okay," Joey said, although she was secretly a little nervous about getting hurt again. "She's just been really busy. She was really sorry and she asked me out again. And I really like her so please, just be happy for me?"

Ruby sighed at the hope in her sister's voice. She chewed her lip in contemplation. Joey sighed.

"I'll cancel if you really want me to," she said unhappily. "But I really think this could be something special."

"You said that last week," Ruby pointed out. "Why did it take her so long to come and find you?"

"She said she really likes me," Joey explained, opting not to mention that they had run into each other by chance. "I think she just... panicked."

"Well, it was really rude of her!" Ruby pointed out. "She's horrible, Joey. I don't like her."

"But I do," Joey protested. "Please? If she hurts me one more time, I swear that'll be it, okay? But she seemed really genuine today. I really want to give it a shot."

"Okay," Ruby sighed dramatically. "But Casey and I will go out and buy some ice cream in preparation for it going wrong."

"Brett said he'd be around so are you okay to sort yourself out?" Joey asked. "I don't know what time I'll be home."

"Fine," Ruby said, lacking enthusiasm. "Can I stay up later? It is Friday, after all."

"Sure," Joey said. "Stay up as late as you like but you have to be home by eight thirty as normal if you go out, alright?"

"I promise."

Joey smiled and dashed upstairs to get ready. She still smelled of sheep.

* * *

><p>Charlie pulled up outside Joey's house, feeling nervous about their date. She felt guilty for dumping her the way she had, especially when she genuinely liked her. But her head had been so confused. The thought of Ruby being the person she had longed to know all these years was too much for her. And entering into a relationship with the only solid parental figure Ruby had ever really known just seemed to make everything more complicated. It made her wonder if she ought to tell the truth to start with.<p>

But that wasn't what she had moved to the coast for. She'd moved here to check that the beloved child she had given away was happy and safe. The right thing, the sensible thing to do was to head on back to the city and forget all about her. She ought to forget all about Ruby and Joey both. And yet, she couldn't seem to leave.

Stepping out of the car, she saw Brax heading into his own house. He stopped and looked her up and down, clearly unimpressed.

"Fancy seeing you here," he remarked.

She stared at him, not at all sure of what to say. She worried about how much she must have hurt Joey by disappearing. To be honest, she hadn't even thought she'd care that much. Joey was a capable, independent girl. Charlie hadn't thought that she would be too affected by her walking away. Apparently, she had been wrong.

"You know, she really likes you," Brax said seriously. "If you're just going to screw her around again, why don't you just drive back to wherever it is you came from?"

"I'm not going to screw her around again," Charlie replied earnestly.

He stared at her for a few moments longer before nodding and heading on into his house. Charlie took a deep breath, approached the front door and knocked. After a few moments, Ruby opened up and immediately glared at her.

"Joey's not here," she lied. "She went out on a date with someone who deserves her."

Charlie's heart constricted at the thought but was relieved when Joey, wearing one shoe and holding the other, hopped forward and nudged Ruby out of the way, apologising.

"Come in," she said. "Please ignore my oh so helpful sister."

"All I'm saying is that you deserve better than someone who's going to sleep with you and then dump you," Ruby said sourly, returning to the table where her boyfriend appeared to be puzzling over some assignment.

"Ruby!" Joey snapped, clearly embarrassed.

She leant against the kitchen counter, apologised again and pulled her shoe on. Charlie admired how gorgeous she was and wondered how she had ever even contemplated avoiding her. Yes, it was a difficult situation that nobody understood but her but Joey was incredible. And surely if they were meant to be together, they could work through anything.

"I'm sorry," she said sincerely. "Everything got on top of me. Ruby's right – I behaved really badly. But I truly am sorry and I really want to me it work this time."

Joey smiled at her.

"So do I," she said.

She turned to the teenagers and told them to be good, to stick to the rules and to call her if they needed anything.

"Ready?" she said brightly to Charlie, who nodded.

Joey took her hand and led her out of the house.

* * *

><p>Sitting opposite each other at a candlelit table in a restaurant in Yabbie Creek, Joey took a deep breath in order to finally mention the elephant in the room.<p>

"Why did you disappear, Charlie?" she asked. "And if it was that you didn't like me then why did you ask me out again?"

"I do like you," Charlie said quickly. "I just... I guess I like you too much."

She managed a smile. Joey smiled back.

"I think I panicked," Charlie explained.

"Was it because of Ruby?"

Charlie looked immediately alarmed.

"I mean, I guess in a lot of ways, I'm a single parent to a teenager," Joey continued. "That's not the makings of the best catch in the world."

"It was nothing like that," Charlie assured her. "I've told you before that I think the way you take care of he is amazing."

"Then what?" Joey wanted to know.

"I really care about you, Joey," Charlie ventured. "Like... I've never felt this way about another person before. I've never been the kind of girl to let other people get close. I've already shared so much of myself with you and I can see myself sharing more. I'm scared that it's all going to go wrong, that we're going to get hurt."

"Well, I definitely have no intention of hurting you, Charlie," Joey said. "I never thought I'd say this but if I got the chance, I'd really like something to work between us. Like, in the longer term. If... if you want?"

"I want," Charlie confirmed.

Joey reached out and held her hand across the table.

"Let's just take things slowly this time," she suggested. "Get used to how we feel about each other. Take it day by day?"

"That sounds perfect," Charlie said, lifting Joey's hand and kissing it softly.

Joey felt herself turn a little pink at the gesture. They gazed into each other's eyes until the waitress interrupted with their main courses.

* * *

><p><em>Next time… Charlie bonds with Joey and her family again…<em>


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

It had been a couple of weeks and everything seemed to be going well between Charlie and Joey. Privately, Charlie had confirmed that Ruby was her daughter, although she was no closer than she had been weeks ago to telling the truth. Having found out that Ruby's birthday was the same day as Charlie's long lost child, it seemed too much coincidence. Charlie had named her in the first place, she was adopted, had been abandoned at a month old and was living in the same town that Charlie had been directed to when she'd first started looking for her. No, there couldn't be another Ruby. This was most definitely Charlie's one and only child.

Charlie and Joey had decided to take things slowly, although they were a little slower than Charlie had first intended. They hadn't slept together since their false start three weeks ago and Charlie thought it was because Joey was anxious about her pulling away again. But Charlie was both determined not to behave badly again and not to push her into anything she wasn't ready for. She had never had a proper relationship. She had certainly never felt so strongly for another person so quickly. It was alarming and wonderful all at the same time.

She was falling quickly in love with all of Joey's quirks and idiosyncrasies. Even things that would have annoyed her about other people – like being untidy and permanently late for everything – she found endearing. She loved the way she smiled, the way she laughed, the way she took her job and her family so very seriously. It warmed Charlie's heart to know that her daughter was being so well loved and taken care of. In short, Charlie was falling in love with Joey and there seemed to be nothing she could do about it. There was also nothing she wanted to do about it.

Arriving at Joey's house for a family meal – due to be attended by herself, Joey, Brett, Ruby, Brax and Casey – Charlie knocked easily on the front door. Any anxiety about being around the family, even Ruby, was gone now. She felt comfortable and happy in the Collins home. Even though she was aware of her own deceit, Charlie enjoyed Ruby's company. It was nice to see her so happy and to be allowed to be part of her life. With Charlie and Joey having stuck together for a couple of weeks now, the teenager was a lot more accepting than she had originally been and the pair of them were building up a warm relationship.

"Hey, sweetheart," Joey greeted warmly when she opened the door.

"Hey," Charlie said, leaning in for a quick kiss.

Joey pulled out a chair and gestured for her girlfriend to sit down. She poured her a glass of wine.

"I'm driving," Charlie pointed out.

Joey looked a little nervous. Sitting down in the next chair, she took Charlie's hand.

"I um... I was um... well, uh... wondering if you might like to um..."

She sighed, wondering how many times she was going to make noises instead of words.

"Would you like to spend the night?" she finally blurted out, turning pink in the process.

Charlie smiled. Joey's embarrassment was cute. She was also elated at the invitation to become more intimate again.

"Do you want me to?" she asked shyly.

"Well, I wouldn't have asked if I didn't," Joey pointed out cheekily.

Charlie laughed.

"Then I'd love to," she said.

"I kept your toothbrush," Joey informed her, standing up and pouring out the previously refused wine.

"Hey, Charlie," Ruby greeted, skipping into the kitchen with Casey close behind her.

"Hey, Rubes," Charlie replied. "Hey, Case."

The teenagers took their seats, clearly eager for dinner to appear.

"How was your day?" Ruby asked politely.

She was just about getting used to the new woman who was stealing all her sister's attention. And while she might not always be very forthcoming about it, she was glad that she had met someone who made her so happy. As far as she knew, Joey had never been in love before. And whether she had admitted it to anyone yet or not, Ruby definitely knew she was in love.

"Boring," Charlie sighed, sipping her wine as Joey turned back to the stove. "But I saw this on sale and thought you'd like it."

She dug around in her bag and handed over a CD. Ruby's eyes widened.

"Are you serious?" she asked.

"They are the band you mentioned last week, right?" Charlie asked nervously.

They'd had a long discussion about Ruby's favourite music and Charlie had tried to remember the name of her favourite band so that she could buy her a treat.

"Yes!" Ruby squeaked. "This is amazing."

Joey turned around and cleared her throat. Remembering her manners, Ruby quickly thanked her. Charlie was surprised when the teenager launched herself across the room to hug her, thanking her again and again for the gift.

"Do I owe you money?" she suddenly asked. "Because I was saving up for it myself and..."

"It's a gift, Ruby," Charlie assured her. "I saw it and knew you wanted it so I thought I'd get it for you. No payment necessary."

She smiled. Ruby hugged her again. Charlie tried not to reveal how affected she was at the feeling of having her daughter back in her arms. She had held her almost constantly for the first month of her life, trying desperately to feel comfortable with her, trying desperately to be her mother. But she'd failed. And she'd followed the advice of her parents to give her up, deciding that if she couldn't cope after thirty days, then she never would.

* * *

><p>Dinner went well. Joey had been surprised over the last couple of weeks at how well Charlie and Brett got along. Her older brother didn't really like many people. And Brax had long since forgiven and forgotten Charlie temporarily dumping his best friend so all felt happy in her world. When Brett had gone out with his friends, Ruby had gone to bed and Brax had taken Casey home, Joey and Charlie were left alone and feeling a little shy.<p>

Sitting beside each other on the sofa, Charlie watched Joey shift a little before leaning in to kiss her. They kissed a lot these days and had almost got carried away a couple of times. It was strange really but tonight almost felt like the first time. They'd had one false start before but this was the real thing now. Both women wanted it to be special. Continuing to kiss, Charlie wrapped her arms gently around Joey, pulling her ever closer.

"Shall we...?" Joey breathed between kisses. "Shall we go upstairs?"

Charlie nodded, accepting Joey's hand and following her to her bedroom. Shutting the door on the world, they eagerly lost themselves in each other.

* * *

><p><em>Next time… Charlie and Joey take the kids on holiday, as their relationship becomes more serious…<em>


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

Charlie and Joey had been dating for three months and everything was going well. Brett accepted them as a couple more readily than anyone had expected and Charlie was surprised to find herself growing quite friendly with Brax and some of the other River Boys. She wasn't particularly keen on Heath but Casey was a sweetheart who seemed to make Ruby very happy. And Ruby was a diamond as far as Charlie was concerned. She was delighted to get to see so much of her and they were getting along well. And a couple of weeks ago, Joey had very proudly given her girlfriend a key to the house. The only person who seemed to object to their relationship was Watson but Charlie understood why and continued to be as friendly as she could. She knew only too well what it was like to fall in love with Joey Collins. She had just been lucky enough to keep her. And she knew exactly how she would feel if Joey had gone off with someone else.

"Hey, um... I've got some leave that I'm meant to be taking soon," Joey ventured.

The couple were lounging around on the sofa that evening. Ruby was in bed, Brett was out and Charlie and Joey had settled down to watch a DVD. Inevitably though, they had got carried away with making out and missed most of it.

"Okay..."

"So..." Joey said shyly, taking Charlie's hand and entwining their fingers. "I was wondering if you might like to go away somewhere?"

"Like, on holiday?" Charlie asked.

Joey nodded.

"It doesn't have to be anything fancy but I thought it might be nice."

"It does sound nice," Charlie agreed

In fact, it sounded perfect.

"What about Ruby?" she asked.

"Well, if you didn't mind," Joey said. "Maybe she could come with us. And maybe Casey too or one of her other friends. They could keep her amused so we'd still get some quality time together but..."

"That sounds amazing," Charlie said.

Joey smiled. She was always touched that Charlie seemed so ready and willing to take Ruby on and spend time with her. Joey was essentially a single parent these days and it had never been easy with previous girlfriends, although she hadn't got terribly involved too early. But it was different with Charlie. Everything was different with Charlie. Joey was somewhat alarmed to realise that she was falling in love with her.

"Well, maybe I'll pick up some brochures after work tomorrow?" she suggested, obviously delighted. "And then we can plan."

"I look forward to it," Charlie said, leaning in to steal a kiss.

* * *

><p>One month later, Charlie and Joey were stretched out on sun loungers on the beach, several hundred miles up the coast. Casey was in the sea with Ruby, trying to teach her how to surf. If she was going to be the long term girlfriend of a River Boy, then she, like her sister and the rest of their friends, had to be an expert in riding the waves.<p>

"This holiday has been so perfect," Joey sighed happily.

"It's not over yet," Charlie pointed out.

Joey turned to gaze at her through her sunglasses. She smiled.

"It's been perfect so far," she corrected herself. "And I'm really looking forward to the rest of it."

Charlie beamed at her. She took a moment to gaze at her girlfriend's tanned, toned body. She felt her heart quicken at the knowledge that Joey was hers. This was the most successful relationship she'd had and she genuinely wanted it to last forever. She'd never thought she could feel so strongly for another person. But here she was, desperately – if secretly – in love.

"Perve," Joey tease, noticing the way Charlie was looking at her.

Charlie blushed and smirked at her.

"How can I help it?" she asked. "You're the hottest woman on the planet!"

Joey chuckled, taking her turn to blush at the compliment. Shifting a little closer, she pulled Charlie towards her. Wrapping her arms around her neck, she kissed her tenderly. It immediately developed, leaving them both more than a little breathless.

"I love you," Charlie said.

Joey looked surprised. Charlie pulled back in panic. She hadn't actually meant to say it out loud.

"I mean, I love being with you," she said quickly. "Here. Now. I love this holiday."

She turned to dig around in her bag for more sunscreen but Joey pulled her gently back. Removing her sunglasses, Joey gazed into Charlie's eyes and stroked her face.

"I love you too, Charlie," she said honestly.

Charlie breathed an audible sigh of relief.

"I was worried I was going too fast," she admitted. "I..."

Sensing another ramble, Joey cut her off with a kiss.

"I love you," she said, resting their foreheads together. "And I think the day I met you was the luckiest day of my life. I feel like we're a family – me, you and Rubes. This is the happiest I have ever been."

"Well, I consider myself to be the luckiest woman alive to have met you, Joey," Charlie said sincerely. "And especially to know that you love me. I've... I've made so many mistakes in my life... more than I could ever begin to explain. But to know you, to love you, to be able to call you mine... that's the best thing that's ever happened to me. I love you so much."

Saying it the second time was markedly easier. Right now, Charlie felt like she could say it forever. Joey smiled, genuinely touched. She reached out, pulling Charlie firmly into her arms again.

* * *

><p><em>Next time… Watson begins digging around in Charlie's history…<em>


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

Watson sat at her desk feeling depressed. And she'd felt that way for a long time. It had been hard enough when Joey had made it clear she wasn't into her but she'd comforted herself with the general knowledge that she didn't really do relationships. Now, six months down the line, Joey was practically married to Charlie. They lived in each other's pockets and were sickeningly happy. Watson couldn't help but wonder what was so special about the police officer who had arrived in town with a bad attitude. And more importantly, what was so wrong with _her_ that despite giving Joey everything she should she wanted it wasn't enough?

"Hey, I'm going to do the coffee run," Charlie said a little awkwardly, approaching the desk. "Would you like anything?"

"Not from you," Watson said, rather more bitterly than she had intended.

Charlie sighed and was about to hurry away before she hesitated. Turning back to Watson, she broached the subject of being friends. Watson stared at her like she was insane.

"Look, I know you liked Joey..." she ventured.

"I fell in love with her," Watson replied curtly.

Charlie nodded, knowing exactly how easy it was to fall for the animal rescue officer. Everything she had learnt about her so far was something to fall in love with.

"I understand," she said. "But it's... it's not my fault. And it's not hers either. You can't help who you fall for..."

"Stop patronising me," Watson snapped.

Sighing, Charlie left the station and headed towards the Diner. Watson watched her go, feeling bitter over the fact that Charlie was right. She hated her for being so damn perfect. Suddenly, an idea flashed into her mind.

* * *

><p>"Slacker," Charlie teased when she spotted Joey, in uniform, standing in line for coffee.<p>

"Says you!" Joey remarked, pulling her in for a kiss.

Charlie grinned and then sighed.

"What's wrong?" Joey asked.

"I think I did something bad," Charlie admitted. "I mean, I was trying to be nice but..."

"Watson?" Joey asked.

She was painfully aware of how hurt her ex fling was and she felt very guilty for it.

"I was just trying to make friends with her but... well, I'm not that good at making friends with people at the best of times, let alone when I'm the girlfriend of someone they want to be with."

She frowned. Joey hugged her gently.

"It's not your fault," she said. "If anyone's to blame, it's me. I'm sorry for dragging you into my mess."

"I kind of like being in your mess," Charlie admitted with a cheeky smile.

Joey couldn't help but laugh.

"I love you," she said affectionately, stealing a quick kiss.

"I love you too," Charlie replied.

It was strange really. Words that had always seemed so impossible in the past tumbled out of her mouth so easily now. It might not be the most conventional situation in the world, especially considering she was essentially lying her way through it. But the one thing she was truly honest about was her feelings. She was in love with Joey. And she loved Ruby. Together, they felt like the family she had always longed for.

* * *

><p>Watson was about to give up on digging around in Charlie's history when something caught her eye. Scrolling back through the page, she read eagerly through a description of an adoption certificate. Charlie had given birth thirteen years ago and then sent her baby away. The baby's birthday was the same as Ruby's and the last known location of the child was Mangrove River.<p>

"So she's not so perfect after all," Watson realised, making a note to investigate further.

* * *

><p>That evening, Joey and Charlie took Ruby and Casey to the cinema to see <em>Thor<em>, the film the kids had been going on about for ages. Holding hands in the back row, Charlie and Joey resisted making out, although it was extremely tempting. They busied themselves with popcorn instead. Joey sat back in her seat and studied her girlfriend's beautiful face as she smiled at the adverts. Sensing she was being watched, Charlie turned to look at her.

"What?" she asked a little nervously.

"Nothing," Joey replied. "I just think you're the most amazing woman on the planet."

"Is that all?" Charlie laughed, leaning in closer and pressing their lips gently together.

Joey smiled into the kiss. Charlie did the same. Having never felt before that she had belonged anywhere, she had finally found a family and a place to call home. She hoped that nothing would ever happen to break them apart.

* * *

><p><em>Next time… Joey finds out that Charlie is Ruby's mother…<em>


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

"Are you okay?" Charlie asked.

Watson had been behaving strangely for a good few days now and her odd looks seemed always to be directed at Charlie. It was unnerving to say the least.

"Oh, I'm fine," Watson said with an insincere smile. "There's nothing like knowing you're a good person with no skeletons in your closet, is there?"

Charlie blanched. Her mind immediately flashed to Ruby's beautiful face. She tried not to panic.

"What's that meant to mean?" she asked, trying to keep her cool.

Watson looked her directly in the eye.

"I think you know exactly what it means," she said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have an appointment."

Charlie watched her leave the police station. She stared long after Watson had left the building.

* * *

><p>Joey waited at the Diner for Watson to show up. She was more than a little surprised that her former lover had asked to meet her. All she could hope was that she wanted to patch things up. She smiled when she saw the uniformed police officer approach.<p>

"Hi," she greeted. "How are you?"

"I'm okay," Watson replied. "How are you?"

She gazed at her longingly. When she'd first rooted around in Charlie's past, she hadn't expected to find anything. But several phone calls and much investigation later, she had discovered the truth of exactly who Joey's girlfriend was. And she hoped she was being a friend by warning her.

"I'm good," Joey said. "I don't have very long. I'm meant to be working and I was late this morning so..."

Watson laughed softly.

"Big shock," she remarked.

Joey grinned.

"Yeah, I know, right?" she said. "I'm so punctual for everything normally!"

They smiled affectionately at each other for a moment.

"So, um, I've got to admit I was surprised you called me. You've been kind of ignoring me for a while now," Joey ventured.

Watson nodded and apologised.

"I was hurting," she said.

Then it was Joey's turn to nod and apologise.

"I honestly didn't mean to hurt you, Watson," she said. "You know how much I care about you. I shouldn't have... you know, if I didn't see a future. But I just kind of jump into these things without thinking. And I really didn't mean for you to find out about Charlie and I the way you did. I am so sorry for that."

"It's okay," Watson said. "I know you didn't mean to hurt me. I know that's not who you are. And in fairness, I knew you weren't looking for a relationship with me."

"I still shouldn't have..."

"Maybe not," Watson agreed. "But you were honest from the start. It was down to me really that I kept imagining something more might happen between the two of us."

Joey nodded, relieved that she was being nice to her.

"And I guess you can't help who you fall in love with," Watson continued. "I mean, I can't help my feelings for you any more than you can help your feelings for Charlie. I suppose these things are kind of out of our control."

Joey nodded and chewed her lip. She was still wondering where Watson was going with all of this.

"I wish you'd take some time to get to know her," she admitted. "She's a really good person, Watson. I think you'd like her if you gave her a chance."

Watson sighed and looked a little awkward.

"I've kind of been getting to know her," she revealed.

Joey looked uncertain.

"I know it was wrong of me but I was worried about you," Watson said quickly. "I kind of dug around in her past and..."

"Watson!" Joey scolded. "You can't do something like that..."

"I know," she replied. "I know it was wrong of me but I'm glad I did it. Joey, there's some stuff you should know."

* * *

><p>Charlie finished work but the knot in her stomach hadn't undone itself. She felt sick at the thought that Watson might have found out the truth about Ruby. So, as much as she knew it would destroy everything she had, Charlie knew she had to tell the truth the first chance she got.<p>

"Hey," she greeted, letting herself into the house and finding Joey nursing a coffee at the kitchen table.

Pausing, she studied her girlfriend. She didn't look very well.

"You're home early," she ventured. "You're normally..."

"Late," Joey said. "I wasn't feeling so good so they let me take the afternoon off."

"Oh," Charlie said compassionately, sitting down beside her and dumped a box on the table.

She put her arms around her and kissed the side of her head.

"What's up?" she asked. "Is there anything I can do?"

Joey stared at her for a moment.

"What's that?" she asked, nodding towards the box.

"Oh," Charlie said, flushing a little guiltily. "It's a laptop."

"A laptop?"

"Yeah, well Rubes was pretty upset when she broke hers the other night so I thought..."

"That you'd buy her love?" Joey asked.

Charlie was shocked by the words and the coldness they were delivered with.

"No..." she faltered. "Um... I just... well, she needed a new one and..."

"That's a lot of money to spend on your girlfriend's little sister on a whim, Charlie," Joey said.

"Well, it was on sale," Charlie said, offering her most charming smile.

"It's still hundreds of dollars, Charlie," Joey snapped. "Why are you spending that kind of money on her?"

"I just... Joey, what's wrong?"

The police officer felt her heart racing. _She knows_, she realised. _She knows everything. And I haven't even had the chance to explain. _She cleared her throat and twisted her fingers together anxiously.

"There's something I need to talk to you about actually," she said. "If... if that's okay?"

"What do you want to talk about?" Joey asked, looking at her directly. "Do you want to tell me that you're Ruby's biological mother? That you've been lying to both of us for months now? That you used me? That you're a fucking bitch?"

She screamed the last sentence, surprising both of them. Charlie just stared at her, tears filling her eyes.

"I..."

"Get out of my house, Charlie," Joey demanded. "And leave your key."

"Joey, if you could just give me a chance to explain," Charlie tried.

"Explain what?" Joey snapped. "How could you do this to us? How could spend all these months here, make me love you, make Ruby love you and all this time...?"

She shook her head and wiped her eyes.

"Joey, it wasn't like that," Charlie said. "I didn't mean to lie to you. I..."

"What, you forgot to mention that Ruby's your daughter, did you?"

"No," Charlie said desperately. "But I didn't even know at first. And by then I was already in love with you."

Joey laughed bitterly.

"You actually expect me to believe that?" she asked. "You think I'm going to buy that you arrived here coincidentally? That the one person you were actually interested in talking to was the guardian of the daughter you abandoned when she was only a month old? I might not be the brightest spark in all the land but I'm not stupid."

"I did come here to find her," Charlie admitted. "But I didn't know who she was at first."

"When did you know?" Joey asked.

"The first night that we... were together."

"I don't believe you," Joey replied.

She stood up and grabbed Charlie's keys. With a little difficulty, she wrestled her door key from the ring.

"Take your excuses and your stupid gifts and get the hell away from me and my family," she said.

Charlie swallowed, searching Joey's eyes for some sense of understanding or compassion. Finding none, she took her things and walked slowly back through the door, almost blind from her own tears.

* * *

><p><em>Next time… Joey avoids Charlie...<em>


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen**

It had been a painful week and a half. Charlie had tried in vain to make things right with Joey and to explain herself. Watson looked rather smug every time she saw her and more than once, Charlie had seen her spending time with Joey. The mere thought of Joey rebounding made Charlie feel sick. On the plus side, Ruby had not charged round to the house and attacked her so for now, it seemed that Joey had at least kept quiet about Charlie's true identity.

"There's been a report of drug dealing over at the Braxton house," Watson informed her Senior Constable.

Charlie, seated at her desk, sighed heavily. The last thing she wanted to do was charge round and accuse Joey's best friends of criminal activity – again.

"Are you ready to go?" Watson asked with a hint of a sneer.

She had never liked Charlie and at this rate, she was never going to. She was just glad to have stuck her nose in sooner rather than later and saved her from being with a liar capable of abandoning her own child.

"Yeah," Charlie sighed. "You can brief me on the way."

* * *

><p>Joey arrived back home after a very long day, to hear shouting next door. She also saw a police car parked in the drive. Sighing and fearful that Charlie might be close by, she considered hurrying into her own house and locking the door on the world outside. But, walking past the gate, she saw Heath on the verge of losing his temper with Charlie and Watson. With Brax nowhere in sight, Joey forced herself to intervene.<p>

"What's going on?" she asked tiredly.

Charlie turned and gazed longingly at her. Joey fixed her eyes on Watson instead.

"They're accusing me of all sorts, Joey," Heath protested desperately.

"We've found Heath with a stash of cannabis on him," Watson explained. "And if we find any more then he's looking at charges for dealing."

"Well, have you found any more?" Joey asked, glaring at Heath for making her clean up his mess.

"Not yet," Charlie said, desperate to talk to Joey, even if only professionally.

"And do you have a warrant?" Joey asked.

"No..."

"Then you can waste everybody's time and charge him with possession but that's pretty much it, right?" Joey pointed out.

Charlie glanced at Watson, suddenly painfully aware that everyone in the garden hated her. She turned back to Heath.

"Fine," she said. "We'll let you off with a warning this time."

Nodding but not thanking anyone, Heath stormed back into the house. Joey turned towards her own home and the police officers followed her off the property. Heading towards the patrol car, Charlie quickly changed her mind and dashed after her ex. Watson protested but held back as Charlie banged urgently on Joey's door.

"What do you want?" the animal rescue worker demanded when she pulled it open.

"I was hoping we could talk," Charlie said, sounding and feeling pathetic.

"I have nothing to say to you," Joey told her.

"I need to explain, Joey... None of this is what you think it is."

"What, so you're not so easy that you had a kid when you were a teenager? And you're not so irresponsible that you abandoned her? And you're not so evil that you tricked me into falling in love with you so that you could get close to the little girl that you let down?" Joey asked coldly.

"I didn't trick you," Charlie said desperately. "I love you. I've loved you for as long as I've known you. Joey, please believe that I..."

"I don't believe anything that comes out of your mouth," Joey said, moving to shut the door.

Charlie got in the way.

"Joey, please can we just sit down and talk about this?" she begged. "Please? Let me tell you everything that happened, every single thing and then kick me out if you want to. But please? Please give me a chance..."

Joey hated herself for feeling weakened by Charlie's words. It would be so much easier to reject and ignore her if only she didn't still love her so damn much. She glanced at Watson, hovering by the car.

"Aren't you on shift?" she asked.

"I'm just about to finish," Charlie told her.

Nodding, Joey left the house, suggesting they went to the beach.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Joey?" Watson asked worriedly.

"Don't worry," Joey assured her. "I won't be changing my mind about her. But maybe she'll leave me alone if I hear her out."

Trying not to feel too wounded about how cold the woman she loved had become, Charlie followed her towards the sand, hoping that she would soon understand the truth.

* * *

><p><em>Next time… Charlie tells Joey the whole truth…<em>


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen**

"So, explain," Joey said sourly when the formers lovers were sat side by side. "Although, for the record, I doubt there's very much you can say to make this right."

Charlie sighed heavily and gazed out at the horizon for a moment.

"I wasn't using you," she ventured.

"Yeah, right," Joey said, not looking at her.

"I fell in love with you before I even knew who Ruby was, Joey."

"And what, you thought it was a coincidence that I happened to have a sister called Ruby and she just happened to be adopted?" Joey snapped back.

"I didn't know who she was," Charlie insisted. "You and I had already spent the night together before I twigged."

Chewing her lip, Joey studied her ex-girlfriend's face. She swallowed uncertainly.

"Is that why you dumped me after our first night together?" she asked, not entirely sure if she wanted the truthful answer.

Charlie looked away and then nodded.

"I panicked," she explained. "Suddenly I knew for sure that the teenager you've devoted your whole life to, was mine. And the more I learnt about the life she led up to becoming part of your family, the more my heart broke. I honestly thought, when I gave her up, that I was doing the right thing. I had images of an amazing family adopting her immediately. I mean, everyone wants a baby, right?"

Joey nodded.

"I thought she'd grow up so safe and secure and happy and even though she's got you, she's already been let down by so many other people, including me."

Joey nodded again and sighed heavily.

"Even if you _were _trying to do right by her when you gave her away, why didn't you say anything when you found her again?" she asked. "Why have you been lying to us all this time?"

Charlie studied a pebble on the sandy beach, as if willing it to bring her answers.

"I mean, that is the whole reason you came to find her, isn't it?"

"It is," Charlie said. "But in the end, I couldn't do it."

"You enjoyed lying too much?" Joey accused, but without much enthusiasm.

"No!" Charlie said quietly. "But I realised that for the first time in her life, Ruby is totally settled. She worships the ground you walk on and she doesn't need the hassle of me turning her life upside down. She doesn't even want to find out who her birth mother is."

"How do you know that?" Joey asked sharply

"We talked about it."

Joey's eyes widened.

"How dare you talk about her mother with her when she doesn't even know it's you!" she snapped.

"I didn't mean to!"

"Yeah, well it sounds like you don't mean to do a lot of things..."

"She spoke about it with me," Charlie said. "She told me that she's happy now that she has you as her guardian and she doesn't want to know where she came from. Not yet, anyway."

Joey groaned and flopped back on the sand. Charlie turned to gaze at the woman she loved so much.

"I'm so sorry, Joey," she said sincerely. "I never meant for any of this to happen."

Joey sat up quickly.

"Like I said, you do a lot of things that you don't mean," she said. "Including everything you've ever said you feel for me."

"I lied about who I am," Charlie conceded. "But I never lied about my feelings for you. I love you so much, Joey. You make my life as complete as it could be..."

"Because I happen to be Ruby's sister," Joey said sourly.

"No," Charlie said, shaking her head.

Spontaneously, she reached for Joey's hand but was instantly rejected.

"I love you," she repeated. "You being Ruby's sister was nothing more than a coincidence."

"A convenient coincidence," Joey replied. "You get to watch your daughter grow up without any of the responsibility. You ducked out of being a mother when she was born and you're no more of a grown up now."

"I was a child when I got pregnant," Charlie told her. "I was barely a teenager myself."

"Well, you were clearly grown up enough to get laid..."

"I was raped," Charlie said.

Joey's breath caught a little as she stared at her.

"Sorry?"

"I was raped. I was on my first date and the boy raped me. And I know you think I'm disgusting and this will only make you believe it more but it wasn't my fault. I swear, Joey. I wasn't asking for it. I..."

Joey surprised them both by touching Charlie's hand.

"Of course it wasn't your fault," she said.

Hearing everything wrong, Charlie accused her of being sarcastic.

"I'm not," Joey said firmly. "I'm so sorry to hear what happened to you. And actually, it kind of makes sense..."

"What do you mean?"

"You're bisexual but you hate men," Joey reminded her. "You totally flipped out when Brax tried to hit on you."

Charlie nodded, feeling a little embarrassed over her past behaviour.

"Joey, is there any way we can work through this?" Charlie asked.

Joey sighed and sank back on the sand again, closing her eyes and admitting that she didn't know. Charlie moved to lie beside her, tipped onto her side so that she could gaze at her face.

"I know I should have told you the truth from the start," she said. "And if I could go back and change it, I would. But I have never been disingenuous about my feelings for you. I love you so much and to be honest, I think I have since the first moment we met."

Joey cracked an eye open and smiled.

"Even though I was defending the dastardly River Boys?" she asked.

"Even though," Charlie grinned. "The first moment I saw you, I thought you were the most beautiful woman I'd ever met. And I still do. And the more I found out about you, the more I adored you. You're so passionate and caring. I love the way you take care of your friends, your family, your animals... I love the way you were so happy to take me into your heart."

Opening her eyes fully, Joey gazed up at Charlie.

"I've never felt about anyone the way I feel about you," she admitted. "I was smitten from the start too. And I can't bear to think about the horror you must have gone through when you were a kid."

She reached out and held Charlie's hand.

"You must be an even stronger, more incredible person than I thought and... well, I always thought very highly of you, Charlie," she ventured. "And so now, at least I understand why you couldn't keep Ruby. But..."

She sighed heavily.

"It's so complicated now, Charlie," she said. "I want to believe that you loved me before you knew the truth but I know my doubts are going to nag at me. And then there's Ruby... I mean, what am I meant to do with this information? She's not ready to know the truth, especially not the fact that she was the product of violence. But I can't keep lying to her. That would make me as bad as..."

Joey trailed off awkwardly.

"As me," Charlie concluded sadly.

Joey closed her eyes again, unable to bear the look of pain and sorrow in Charlie's eyes.

"I don't know what to do," she admitted. "I just... don't know."

* * *

><p><em>Next time… Charlie confronts Watson and Joey confides in Brax…<em>


	19. Chapter 19

_Thank you everyone for your reviews. I've found it very difficult to write Watson as a 'baddie' but I hope it's working and believable! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. There are five chapters left after this one. Love, IJKS xxx_

**Chapter Nineteen**

It had been a week since Charlie and Joey last saw each other and both women seemed to be wandering around town like ghosts. They functioned well enough to do their jobs and live up to their responsibilities but inside, they were empty. And it was starting to show.

Arriving home from school, Ruby regarded her big sister doing the dishes in the kitchen sink.

"Joey?" she said.

The older woman dried her hands, rubbed her eyes and then turned around, plastering a smile on her face. Ruby was alarmed to realise that she had been crying.

"It's Charlie, isn't it?" the teenager asked.

"What do you mean?" Joey asked, sinking into a kitchen chair.

Ruby sighed and sat beside her.

"Joey, what happened? You guys were so into each other. I don't understand why you broke up."

Joey twisted her fingers together. She was still debating whether Ruby needed to know the full truth or not. Would it make things better or worse?

"It's complicated," Joey said. "But I'm fine. Don't worry about it."

"Crying into the sink isn't fine, Joey," Ruby pointed out.

"I wasn't..."

Joey shrugged, realising there was no point in lying.

"I just miss her," she admitted.

Ruby touched her hand gently.

"Then why don't you try and work things out?"

* * *

><p>Charlie sat at home feeling sorry for herself. It had been a particularly long day and she hadn't even started her shift yet. Her time away from work used to be filled with fun but without Joey and Ruby in her life, she felt void of joy. And work was a nightmare. She knew Watson was a nice person. And she knew that if she and Joey hadn't been on the cards then her colleague probably wouldn't have taken issue with her. But unfortunately, things had worked out badly on all counts.<p>

* * *

><p>"I don't want to go out!" Joey protested.<p>

Not taking no for an answer, Brax physically grabbed hold of his friend and began to drag her towards the door. Ruby stood back with Casey. Both teenagers were amused.

"Brax!" Joey shrieked.

"Joey, you're not sitting at home every damn night crying into glasses of wine!" Brax insisted, hauling her through the door.

"I haven't been crying!" Joey yelled, glaring at Ruby.

She was sure her sister had had a hand in all of this.

"We're going to the restaurant, we're having dinner, drinking ourselves into oblivion and you, my friend, are telling me all about it," Brax said. "Come on."

"Bye!" Ruby called with a giggle.

"You'd better be good!" Joey warned.

Giving up, she got onto her own two feet and agreed to walk the rest of the way to the restaurant.

* * *

><p>Neither Charlie nor Watson was impressed to be put on patrol together but there was very little that either of them could do about it. Charlie drove, focussing on the road while Watson gazed out of the window.<p>

"Why don't we stop for a coffee?" Watson suggested blankly, noting that they were nearing the Summer Bay coast.

"I'm not thirsty."

"Well, maybe I am."

"Well, maybe I don't care."

Watson turned to glare at her companion.

"What is your problem?" she snapped.

"What's _my _problem?" Charlie almost laughed. "I'm sorry, I thought I was the one that just had her whole life destroyed. And why was that? Oh, yeah, because of _you_!"

"It wasn't me who used a nice girl like Joey and fed her and her sister sickening lies!" Watson argued.

Charlie braced herself for a full scale row to begin.

* * *

><p>Joey sat in a corner of the restaurant with Brax. One perk to her friend running the place was that she got free drinks, although that always annoyed his reluctant business partner, Angelo.<p>

"So, why did you dump the single hottest girl you've ever dated?" Brax asked bluntly, getting right to the point.

Joey hesitated. She desperately wanted someone to pour her heart out to but she also didn't want to betray Charlie. Also, the more people that knew the truth about Ruby, the worse the whole scenario felt.

"It just didn't work out," she said vaguely.

"Why not? You were really into each other. And judging by how miserable you both are right now, you're clearly still attached. So, what's the deal?"

"She just... wasn't the person I thought she was," Joey sighed.

"So, who is she?"

Joey downed her drink.

"Can you keep a secret?" she asked.

"Don't lie!" Charlie bellowed.

She had angrily pulled over to the side of the road, killed the engine and launched into the argument that Watson had been itching to have for a long time now.

"I'm not lying!" Watson insisted. "I told Joey the truth about you because you were too gutless to do it yourself and she deserves more than a liar!"

"Yeah, I know exactly what you think Joey deserves, Watson..."

"What's that meant to mean?"

Charlie glared at her.

"You didn't tell Joey the truth out of the goodness of your heart and we all know that," she said. "You told her because you're in love with her and you wanted us to break up so you could have her for yourself."

Watson's mouth hung open, too surprised to even try and deny it.

"And guess what," Charlie added. "You told her and she's not with me. But she's also not with you. What does that tell you?"

Watson met her icy stare.

"It tells me that I have to work harder," she replied.

* * *

><p>Brax's eyes widened at the news that Charlie was Ruby's biological mother. He shook his head and tried to speak a few times but nothing intelligible came out of his mouth.<p>

"Do you think she was just using you?" he eventually asked.

Joey shrugged.

"She says not but..."

She sighed heavily and closed her eyes.

"For the record, I think she's telling the truth," Brax ventured.

Joey looked confused.

"She's in love with you," her friend said. "That's abundantly clear. So maybe it is just like she says. Maybe she fell for you and found out about Ruby later."

"Maybe," Joey conceded. "But even if she was genuine, it doesn't change anything, does it? She's still Ruby's mother. How can I be a good sister and have Charlie as my girlfriend? Ruby relies on me. She comes first – before absolutely anything. I already feel like I'm betraying her by keeping secrets. I can't..."

She sighed again and closed her eyes, leaning back in her seat.

"I think you should tell Ruby the truth," Brax said.

* * *

><p><em>Next time… Charlie and Joey plan to tell Ruby the truth…<em>


	20. Chapter 20

_Sorry for the delay in posting today. I have been having all sorts of fun and games with my cat and my new kitten! But here is your first instalment. Love, IJKS xxx_

**Chapter Twenty**

"Rubes..." Joey ventured.

Her little sister offered her rapt attention. Joey hadn't been very communicative for weeks now so if she wanted to talk then Ruby was willing to listen.

"How do you feel about... stuff?"

"Would you like to be a little vaguer than that?" Ruby replied with amused sarcasm.

Joey laughed a little self consciously.

"About your real parents," she said. "I know you've said one day you'd like to look for them. Do you... um, well do you feel the same now?"

"I guess," Ruby said uncertainly. "I mean... well, I'd be interested to know where I come from at least. But as far as I'm concerned, you're my real family. Why?"

"Charlie just um... well, she just mentioned the other day that you'd lost interested in finding your birth mother," Joey explained, hoping she wouldn't arouse too much suspicion.

"I had," Ruby admitted. "But..."

"Things have changed?"

Ruby nodded.

"Why?"

"It doesn't matter," Ruby said quickly.

"Ruby...?"

The teenager sighed unhappily, shifting in her seat and wondering how she could explain herself without hurting anyone's feelings.

"It's just that... well, before... you know, when you and Charlie were dating, I felt like we were a proper family," she ventured.

Joey tried to swallow the lump in her throat.

"But now that she's gone and you're not talking and I don't really understand why... well, I guess I feel like we're a bit incomplete now," Ruby said.

Joey looked startled.

"You were happier when we were together?" she asked nervously.

Ruby nodded and then apologised.

"It's not that I'm unhappy now or I prefer Charlie or anything," she added quickly. "It's just that I kind of felt that we three were a unit. And it made me feel a bit more secure. I know you're my sister and everything and Charlie isn't even related but... I guess I felt for a while there like you were my parents. Does that make sense?"

"It does," Joey said quietly.

"And so I stopped caring about where I came from," Ruby continued, hoping she wasn't digging herself a deeper grave. "And I'm happy with it just being us two but... it's different. I don't think I'm saying this right."

She frowned and apologised again. Joey smiled tenderly and reached out to squeeze her hand.

"I know what you mean," she said. "Listen, I have to go out for a bit. Brett will be home in half an hour. Will you be alright on your own?"

"I'll be as good as gold," Ruby promised.

Joey kissed her cheek and then hurried out of the house.

* * *

><p>Charlie was in the kitchen, home alone for the evening and making herself a microwave meal when she saw a car pull up outside. She recognised it immediately and her heart skipped a beat as she realised that Joey was walking to the door. She opened up before Joey even had a chance to knock and the former lovers couldn't help but gaze longingly at each other.<p>

"Can you talk?" Joey asked.

Charlie nodded mutely, stepping aside so that Joey could come in.

"I was making dinner," Charlie said. "Sort of. Would you like something?"

"No thanks," Joey said.

They sat down at the kitchen table together.

"So..." Charlie ventured.

"We have to tell Ruby the truth," Joey blurted out.

Charlie stared at her in alarm.

"What?" she squeaked. "Um... what?"

Joey took a deep breath and tried to explain.

"I was talking to her just now," she said. "And she was telling me how happy she was when you and I were together. She said she felt like we were a family – that you and I were her parents. She loves you so much, Charlie."

"So what, you have to destroy that in order to get rid of me for good?" Charlie asked, sounding wounded.

Joey shook her head.

"No," she said. "She deserves to know the truth. I can't live with myself if I'm lying to her. And it might just turn out that she _wants _you to be her Mum. She might be happy."

"It's a big 'might', Joey," Charlie said doubtfully. "Although, obviously if you want to go ahead, I can't stop you."

She twisted her hands together anxiously, studying a particular point on the tabletop. Licking her lips, Joey gently reached out and touched Charlie's fingers, gazing into her eyes.

"I want us to tell her together," she said.

Charlie shook her head.

"She doesn't need to know, Joey," she said. "She's going to hate me. Isn't it better just to leave things are they are?"

Joey took several deep breaths, trying to figure out if she was brave enough to say how she really felt.

"If we told her and she was happy... think about the future we could have."

Charlie looked startled and a little gormless as her mouth hung open.

"But you hate me," she managed.

"I feel very hurt by you," Joey corrected. "But I don't hate you. I could never hate you."

She held onto her still.

"My number one priority is to protect my family, Charlie."

"I know."

"And this is the only way I can think to do that. And maybe... maybe find some kind of happiness for myself in the process... with you."

* * *

><p><em>Next time… Ruby learns the truth at last…<em>


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty One**

Ruby observed Charlie and Joey with caution. Both women looked very serious and the thirteen year old dared not hope that they were about to tell her they were back together. When neither of them spoke, she couldn't keep silent.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "Why are you both looking so serious?"

"There's um... there's some stuff we need to tell you," Joey began.

She glanced at Charlie, who looked rather unwell. Silently she pleaded with Joey to change her mind but knew it was fruitless. Taking a deep breath, Charlie attempted to explain.

"Ruby, the thing is that... that, um... that I didn't tell you everything about myself when I first arrived here," she ventured.

"Well, of course you didn't," Ruby said. "You can't possibly tell anyone every single thing about yourself as soon as you meet them. That's why you spend more time with them..."

Joey and Charlie exchanged glances.

"I kept something pretty big from you," Charlie admitted.

She glanced at Joey again, who tried to look encouraging.

"What?" Ruby asked. "Because you guys are starting to freak me out here."

Charlie swallowed and took another deep breath.

"I'm your mother," she blurted out.

Ruby just stared at her.

"Excuse me?" she finally said.

"I'm your mother," Charlie repeated.

"Yeah, I heard what you said, it just doesn't make any sense," Ruby snapped.

Joey chewed her lip, wondering if this had been a good idea after all. Maybe she'd got all of this wrong from the start.

"Charlie, she needs more of an explanation than that," she said gently.

Charlie nodded.

"I um... I didn't have all that much choice about giving you away," she ventured. "I loved you so much but it wasn't... well, the circumstances..."

She sighed, starting to panic. Ruby's eyes narrowed as she hung onto her every word.

"I um... I moved here because I was looking for you."

"Why?" Ruby asked. "You obviously didn't want to know me when I was a baby."

"I did," Charlie said, trying not to sound too desperate. "I loved you but..."

"But what?"

"I was still a child myself," Charlie explained. "I wasn't old enough to give you a proper start in life. I was trying to do right by you."

"How could abandoning me be doing the right thing?" Ruby asked incredulously. "I mean, I know I ended up with a good family but it took quite a while to get there, Charlie. You dumped me and sent me off into a scary world. I was in hell before I came here."

"I was assured that you'd be looked after by a loving family," Charlie said. "I didn't know you'd get passed around first. I didn't know what was going to happen."

"Well, you know what?" Ruby said, her eyes dark. "The way to keep control of what happens to your child is to keep her, grow up and be her mother!"

Charlie chewed her lip, willing herself not to cry. She jumped when Ruby leapt to her feet. The teenager turned to Joey.

"How long have you known about this?" she demanded.

"A few weeks," Joey admitted. "That's why... that's why Charlie and I broke up."

"Then you've betrayed me too," Ruby accused.

Joey stood and attempted to reach out to her sister but she was rudely rejected. With tears in her eyes, Ruby stormed up to her room and slammed the door. Joey stood, motionless in the lounge. Charlie sank back in her seat and closed her eyes. Tears began to flow.

"I told you this was a bad idea," she said bitterly.

"None of this is my fault," Joey snapped, storming into the back garden.

* * *

><p>It had been a couple of days and life in the Collins household had been muted to say the least. Joey had tried several times to talk things through with Ruby but for the first time in her life, the teenager had no interest in anything she had to say. Similarly, Joey hadn't spoken to Charlie. She'd seen her a few times, floating round town like a ghost but far from the happy ending Joey had dared to hope for, it felt like their world was ending.<p>

Over dinner that evening, Joey attempted to talk her sister round.

"Ruby, I know you're upset," she ventured.

"Upset doesn't cover it," Ruby told her, focussing on her food.

"But you must have a lot of questions," Joey said, ploughing on regardless. "If you want, I can call Charlie and we could all sit down together. We could try to work through this."

"I don't want to work through it," Ruby told her. "Charlie is a lying bitch. And you're just as bad as her."

Joey struggled not to feel desperately wounded. They continued eating in silence.

"Why did you break up with her?" Ruby finally asked.

"Because I felt the same way you did," Joey admitted. "I thought that she'd used me to get to you. I thought all of the things that are probably running through your mind right now. But then I sat down with her and she told me the whole truth. And I started to understand why she did the things that she did."

Ruby chewed her lip.

"What's the whole truth?" she asked cautiously.

"Charlie needs to be the one to tell you that," Joey replied.

"Can you just tell me if she gave me up because she hated me?" Ruby asked, tears brimming in the corners of her eyes.

Joey reached across the table and held her hand.

"No," she said honestly. "She loved you. She always has."

"One of the reasons I've been afraid of finding out who my parents are, is that maybe they saw something bad in me," Ruby admitted.

Joey was surprised. She thought Ruby had told her everything about her anxieties on this particular subject. Obviously, she hadn't.

"That's definitely not true," Joey said. "There is nothing bad in you, Ruby. You're amazing. I genuinely believe that Charlie was trying to do right by you."

Ruby sighed heavily. She squeezed Joey's hand and then wiped her eyes.

"Call her," she finally said. "If all of this is real, if she actually is my Mum then I need answers. But please don't think that I'm going to welcome her into my life. If you choose her over me, Joey, you've lost me for good."

* * *

><p><em>Next time… Charlie, Joey and Ruby talk things through…<em>


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter Twenty Two**

Charlie, Joey and Ruby sat somewhat awkwardly round the dining table without speaking. All three women stared at each other uncertainly.

"So, what's the story?" Ruby asked, deciding to get right to the point. "How did you get pregnant and why did you give me away?"

Charlie glanced uncertainly at Joey who just nodded, willing her to tell the truth as delicately as possible.

"I was out on my first date," the police officer ventured.

"And that's when you started being easy?" Ruby said bitterly.

"I wasn't easy," Charlie said, trying not to react emotionally. "I was... attacked by my date."

Ruby just stared at her.

"What do you mean, attacked?" she asked anxiously.

Charlie looked at Joey again.

"Please don't make me say the word, Ruby," she begged.

"Your date forced you to have sex with him?" Ruby persisted.

Charlie nodded, closing her eyes for a moment. Ruby glanced nervously at Joey who looked equally unhappy.

"I'm the product of rape?" Ruby asked, not sure if she really wanted clarification or not.

Charlie nodded again.

"No wonder you hated me," Ruby said bitterly, sinking back in her chair.

"I never hated you," Charlie said quickly. "I loved you. I was just in so much pain. I was so young, Ruby, barely your age. A big part of me wanted to keep you and I hoped, during my pregnancy that I'd be able to raise you on love alone but... I just couldn't. I'm sorry."

"So, you just decided to hand me over to someone else?" Ruby asked. "Did you even care where I went? Did you even meet me properly? Did you hold me? Or did you just tell the doctor to take me away?"

"I believed that you'd have a better life without me," Charlie explained. "They said that people always wanted to adopt babies so I assumed that you'd go to a nice family immediately and you'd live happily ever after."

"I didn't," Ruby said bitterly. "I got passed around from pillar to post and when I ended up here, my parents probably walked out on me."

"We don't know that," Joey said gently.

"Yeah, great," Ruby snapped. "They either abandoned me or they're dead in a ditch somewhere."

Joey swallowed and closed her eyes. It wasn't something she could bear to think about. And she wondered if she would ever solve the mystery of where her parents had ended up.

"I'm sorry for everything you've been through," Charlie tried.

Ruby glared but her expression had softened a little.

"You didn't answer my other questions," she said.

Charlie looked confused.

"Did you meet me? Hold me? What happened when I was born?"

"I held you in my arms, cried my eyes out and told you that I loved you," Charlie said honestly.

"Were you telling the truth?" Ruby asked.

"Of course I was," Charlie told her. "Ruby, it was never ever about not loving you."

"Do you love me now?" the teenager wondered.

"Yes," Charlie replied without hesitation. "I've spent my life loving you. That's why I came here... to find you."

She glanced nervously at Joey but her face was unreadable.

"Then why didn't you tell me the truth from the start?" Ruby asked. "I mean, we met pretty much immediately."

"I didn't realise who you were at first," Charlie explained. "I fell in love with Joey before I twigged."

Joey swallowed uncertainly, paying close attention to what her ex-girlfriend was saying.

"Wouldn't that have been a perfect time for the big reveal?" Ruby asked sarcastically.

"Maybe," Charlie conceded. "But... I don't know. The time was never right and I was so afraid of being rejected. I didn't know what to do."

"You should have told the truth," Joey put in.

Charlie nodded, looking down and apologising.

"I guess I thought I could have the best of both worlds," she admitted. "I was so happy to be Joey's girlfriend, happier than I've ever been before. And getting to be in your life too, even if you didn't know who I was... it was wonderful. I loved getting to know you. You came to mean everything to me so quickly... both of you did."

She glanced between Joey and Ruby who didn't respond.

"I wish you'd been honest from the start," Joey confessed.

"Me too," Ruby agreed.

Charlie apologised again.

"If I could go back and do everything differently, I would."

"Would you go back and keep me?" Ruby asked immediately.

Charlie looked stunned as she stuttered over what to say.

"Would you have wanted me to?" she finally asked.

"How would I know?" Ruby asked coldly. "You're practically a stranger to me."

"I know," Charlie said softly. "I guess, what I'm saying is that if I'd have kept you, neither of us would ever have met Joey. Would you have really wanted that?"

"Obviously not," Ruby snapped. "Joey's my whole world."

She looked lovingly at her sister for a moment before settling her gaze back on Charlie.

"What do you want from me?" she asked.

"Anything you want," Charlie said.

"What, you want to suddenly be my mother after all this time?"

"I know that's not likely to happen," Charlie replied. "But if I could be part of your life, even in some small way, I..."

"I don't know if you can," Ruby admitted. "I don't really know how to handle this."

Charlie nodded, sighing heavily and studying the table top.

"What about you two?" Ruby asked, nodding between the two adults.

Both women shifted anxiously.

"What do you mean?" Joey asked.

"Well, you're in love with each other," Ruby pointed out. "Are you getting back together or what?"

"No," Joey said.

Charlie's heart sank. For a moment there, she had hoped.

"You said that if I chose Charlie over you then I'd lose you forever," Joey explained. "I'm not about to do that. You're my life, Ruby."

The teenager nodded.

"Well, good," she said. "Yeah. That's good."

Nodding again, she excused herself and headed back up to her bedroom.

"I guess I should head off," Charlie said unhappily.

She and Joey gazed longingly at each other for a moment. The conversation hadn't gone quite how either of them had hoped.

"I'll see you out," Joey said, standing up.

Charlie followed her ex-girlfriend towards the door. They hesitated on the doorstep.

"Give her some time," Joey said. "She might come round. There might still be a chance for the two of you."

"What about me and you?" Charlie dared to ask.

"If Ruby was to welcome you with open arms, I would too," Joey admitted. "I wish I could now. But... I'm all she's got in the world and I can't abandon her, not even for you."

Charlie nodded, trying not to hope too hard.

"I love you," she said honestly.

Joey smiled carefully, reaching forward and squeezing her hand.

"I love you too," she replied. "I wish... I wish things were different."

"Me too."

Breaking hands, Joey watched Charlie turn away and head to her car.

* * *

><p><em>Next time… Charlie, Joey and Ruby try to find a way forward…<em>


	23. Chapter 23

_This is the penultimate chapter of this one so I hope you enjoy it and like where the story is going. Love, IJKS xxx_

**Chapter Twenty Three**

Ruby heard the sound of crying. Cautiously, she approached her big sister's bedroom and found the door slightly ajar. Peering through the gap, Ruby spied Joey lying face down on the bed, sobbing. It had been a week since they'd seen Charlie and Ruby was only too aware of how hard Joey was taking their break up. For starters, Joey never cried. Even when their parents had disappeared, Ruby had never known her hero to cry. Seeing her so vulnerable and lost was very painful. Sighing, Ruby trudged back to her bedroom. Sinking onto her desk chair, she picked up her phone.

* * *

><p>Charlie knocked anxiously on Joey's kitchen door. Ruby opened up and forced a smile.<p>

"Hi," the police officer said nervously.

"Hi," Ruby replied. "Come in."

She stepped aside so that Charlie could enter the kitchen.

"I was um... I was surprised you called," Charlie admitted.

Ruby shut the door and shrugged.

"This whole thing isn't just about me," she said. "And I'm not about to call you Mum or anything like that. But there's someone living in this house that's breaking her heart over you and I can't bear it."

Without waiting for a reply, Ruby gestured for Charlie to follow her up the stairs.

* * *

><p>Joey leapt to her feet when someone knocked on her door. She hurriedly rubbed her eyes but not before Ruby and Charlie had walked into the room. Joey felt immediately embarrassed, not to mention confused.<p>

"We need to talk," Ruby said firmly.

She sat in a chair and gestured for Charlie to perch on the bed. Joey rubbed her eyes a little more, mortified to have been caught so upset.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"You two need to get back together," Ruby announced.

"What?" Joey said. "No, I told you..."

"I know you said you wouldn't and I really appreciate that but I can't see you like this, Joey."

"Like what?" Joey said defensively. "I'm fine."

"Yeah, right," Ruby remarked. "You cry all the time these days!"

"I don't!" Joey protested, rubbing her eyes again.

She glanced at Charlie, flushed.

"I don't," she said more quietly.

"I do," Charlie replied quietly.

The former couple managed small smiles at each other.

"Look, I'm not comfortable with any of this," Ruby said. "The fact that you gave birth to me and then abandoned me still hurts a lot, even if I do sort of understand the reasoning. But let's not go there. I can't even begin to try and analyse how I was brought into this world."

She shook her head and looked down.

"But at the end of the day, Joey is the centre of my universe. Just like you want me to be happy, Joey, I want you to be too. And I know you'd be happier if you and Charlie were back together."

"I can't choose her over you..." Joey said sadly. "I wish I could but…"

"And I'm not asking you to," Ruby said. "I'm giving you my blessing. The months you've spent together have quite obviously been the best of your whole life Joey. If what you two have is true love then I'm not about to stand in the way of that."

"What about you and Charlie?" Joey wondered. "I mean, isn't that going to be weird?"

"Yep," Ruby replied. "But we can work on it. I mean, if you love her this much then she's got to be worth it, right? And before I knew the truth, I liked her too."

She turned to her biological mother, searching her eyes.

"I loved you," she admitted. "I was desperate for the three of us to be a real family. And I guess I kind of got that..."

She sighed. Charlie dared not hope too hard.

"I'm not saying it's going to be easy," she said. "But we can try, right? The three of us. We can try."

* * *

><p>With Ruby having opted to give them some privacy, Charlie and Joey finally faced each other.<p>

"Can you forgive me?" Joey asked quietly.

"Forgive you?" Charlie replied, sounding confused.

Joey reached out with shaking hands and gripped Charlie's fingers.

"I said some really cruel things to you recently," Joey said. "I didn't mean them. But I also didn't apologise. I'm so, so sorry for everything."

Charlie smiled sadly at her.

"I deserved them," she said quietly.

"No, you didn't," Joey insisted. "Charlie, you're the most incredible person I've ever met. I know the situation will take a lot of getting used to but honestly, I can't help but think about how brave you are?"

"Brave?"

"You went through one of the worst ordeals a person can go through," Joey reminded her.

"And then I abandoned my child," Charlie pointed out unhappily.

Joey squeezed her hands gently.

"But you came back," she said. "You survived. All those things make you a hero as far as I'm concerned."

Charlie blushed and looked bashful.

"I'm sorry for the way I treated you," Joey repeated. "And now that I'm not going to lose my sister, if… if you were willing to give me another chance then…"

She looked anxious but hopeful. With everything forgiven between them, Charlie leant in and kissed her.

* * *

><p><em>Next time… Charlie and Joey are back together…<em>


	24. Chapter 24

_Apologies for the lack of update yesterday. I ended up doing too much and wore myself out but I will do some extra updates through the course of the day to make up for it. This is the final chapter of 'Family Values' so I really hope you like the way it ends. Love, IJKS xxx_

**Chapter Twenty Four**

_Six Weeks Later..._

Joey thundered down the stairs, running very late for work. With only one sock on, she tripped down the final three steps, landing just about on her feet and with a smidgen of grace at the bottom. Entering the kitchen, she found Charlie making breakfast.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" Joey squeaked, sitting down and putting her other sock on.

"You looked so cute all sleepy like that," Charlie said with a devilish grin.

"I'm going to be late for work," Joey complained.

Charlie placed two slices of toast a cup of coffee in front of her girlfriend. Sitting beside her, she pulled her in for a gentle kiss.

"Sweetheart," she said. "You're _always _late for work. You're late for everything. People would be shocked if you actually walked through the door on time."

Joey pouted, although she knew she was right. Charlie kissed her again just as Brax, Heath and Casey walked through the door.

"We smelled food," Heath said, plonking himself into a chair.

"It's not for you," Charlie told him, although she had made enough for their extra guests.

The Braxton boys always showed up of a morning. Since moving in with Joey and Ruby a few weeks ago, she had got used to running a hotel of sorts.

"You know you love us," Brax remarked.

Grumbling, Charlie stood and fetched them all some breakfast each. Ruby appeared in the doorway.

"It's a party," she commented in her school uniform.

Saving a special smile for her boyfriend, Casey, Ruby sat herself down between Charlie and Joey. It had been a long road for her to feel comfortable with the woman who had turned out to be her biological mother. The fact that she and Joey were perfect for each other helped somewhat and the three of them were looking forward to a future as a family.

"Brax, can you drive these two to school this morning?" Joey asked, munching eagerly through her breakfast.

"She's running late," Charlie put in. "And for that matter, so am I."

"Big shock," Heath remarked with a wry smile.

"I was tired!" Joey protested. "I had a late night."

"Oh yeah?" Brax smirked. "Do we get to guess what you were doing?"

Charlie coloured. Joey threw a slice of toast at her friend's head. He caught it and started eating it while raising his eyebrows suggestively.

"Do you mind?" Ruby squeaked. "They _are _my parents!"

Charlie couldn't help but smile privately to herself at the reference. She was very much enjoying playing house. She loved being a partner to Joey and a mother to Ruby. After everything she'd been through in her life, suddenly it felt like things were finally falling into place. Noticing Charlie's joy, Joey grinned and squeezed her hand under the table.

"Rubes, you're going to have to deal with it one day," Brax said. "Even parents have sex."

"Don't I know it?" Ruby remarked. "They're only across the hall!"

Charlie and Joey both looked mortified.

"Haven't you guys got to get going?" Joey asked, her voice rather higher than she meant to.

"Yep," Brax said, stealing another slice of toast before telling the kids to get up and get going.

"I could stick around and clean up if you like," Heath said, lazily leaning back in his chair.

"No way," Joey said. "Last time I foolishly agreed to that, I found you drunk and asleep on the bathroom floor."

Brax waved goodbye and headed back out of the house, followed by Casey. Ruby took the time to hug both Charlie and Joey tightly before skipping out of the house after them. Standing, Joey ushered Heath out of the house too.

"I won't end up in your bathroom again," he protested.

"Don't care," Joey said, nudging him towards the door. "See you later."

Grumpily, he left again, still with a cup of coffee in his hand. Charlie put all the dishes in the sink, ready to deal with them when she got in. Turning back around, she smiled as Joey stepped up close. They wrapped their arms around each other, kissing tenderly.

"I'll see you when I get in from work," Joey said.

"I look forward to it," Charlie replied.

They kissed again.

"I love you," Joey whispered softly.

"I love you too," Charlie replied. "And I can honestly say that I'm happier right now than I have ever been in my entire life. You and Ruby mean everything to me. I finally feel like I have a proper family and a proper home."

Joey held her close.

"I feel exactly the same," she said.

* * *

><p><em>Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed this chapter – and those who have read it without leaving feedback. It all means a lot. I do hope you have enjoyed it. Love, IJKS xxx<em>


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